Shropshire Star

Poll: Should a legal age restriction be placed on energy drinks?

A charity research and campaign group has said that energy drinks should be banned for children under the age of 16.

Published

The group surveyed the nutritional labels on nearly 200 drinks that are found in supermarkets and online.

The results showed that one of the drinks had up to 10 teaspoons of sugar per 250ml which is twices as much as all of the other drinks.

Researchers from the charity are calling for stricter limits to be placed on added sugars as it is thought that teenages get almost 30% of their sugar intake from soft drinks.

The charity have argued that the body can generate these sugars from healthier options such as pasta, vegetables and rice so there is not need for additional sugars.

The charity have also added that there is no excuse as to why the sugars in the drinks cannot be reduced down.

Professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Action on Sugar, Graham MacGregor, said: "Children are being deceived into drinking large cans of this stuff, thinking they are going to improve their performance at school, during sports, or even on a night out.

"In reality all they are doing is increasing their risk of developing obesity or type 2 diabetes which will have lifelong implications on their health.

"Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, limb amputation and kidney dialysis - hardly the image of a healthy, active person."

Dr Alison Tedstone of Public Health England said: "Energy drinks are usually high in sugar, which causes tooth decay, and also high in calories.

"Teenagers are consuming 50% more sugar than the maximum recommended amount and the biggest contribution comes from sugary drinks.

"The Change4Life Sugar Swaps campaign aims to help families cut down on their sugar intake by making simple changes like swapping sugary drinks for water, lower-fat milks or sugar-free, diet, no added sugar drinks."

The World Health Organization and government advisers in England have both recently proposed a cut in their recommendations for daily sugar consumption.

The new proposed target of 5% of energy intake from free sugars amounts to about 25g for women (five to six teaspoons) and 35g (seven to eight teaspoons) for men, based on an average diet.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.