Doctors are urging families to look past energy drinks’ sports branding and take the caffeine inside seriously, as a college sponsorship brings renewed attention to the risks for children.
“We didn’t understand they could be deadly,” Sean Cripe, whose teenage son Davis died in 2017, told the Associated Press.
Davis, 16, had consumed a Mountain Dew and a latte before an energy drink, according to the coroner’s account reported by AP. His father said the family had talked about the drinks being unhealthy but hadn’t understood how serious the consequences could be.
Deaths like Davis’s are rare, AP reported. But doctors warn that high levels of caffeine can cause problems well short of that worst outcome, including abnormal heartbeats, agitation and disrupted sleep.
The latest concern centers on Monster Energy’s expanded partnership with the Big 12 Conference. The conference’s July 7 announcement said regular-season football and men’s and women’s basketball will carry Monster branding, including a co-branded logo on jerseys, fields, courts and digital channels.
A coalition of doctors has asked conference leaders to pause the sponsorship and the NCAA to review energy-drink marketing to young people, according to AP. Idaho cardiologist Dr. Matthew Nelson worries children will confuse products promoted by admired athletes with sports drinks.
The companies dispute the implication that their products are unsafe. Monster told AP its drinks have been widely and safely consumed, while the American Beverage Association said its members disclose caffeine totals, carry warning labels and do not market or sell energy drinks in K–12 schools.
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For parents, the medical guidance does not depend on which brand appears on a jersey. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ parent guide says avoiding caffeine is the best choice for all children.
The guide explains that a growing child’s body and brain are more sensitive to caffeine’s stimulation. Possible side effects include a fast or irregular heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, anxiety, nausea and sleep loss.
Drink sizes and formulas matter, too. The academy’s examples include an 8.4-ounce energy drink with 80 milligrams of caffeine and 16-ounce products with 300 milligrams; some of those high-caffeine drinks contain no sugar.
That means a sugar-free label does not mean caffeine-free. Coffee, soda, tea, chocolate, some snack bars and certain medicines can also contribute caffeine, so looking at just one can misses the rest of a child’s intake.
The Food and Drug Administration’s guidance cites 400 milligrams daily as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults. That is not a children’s allowance, and individual sensitivity, medications and health conditions can change how someone responds.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likewise advises against energy drinks for adolescents and encourages coaches to explain the difference between energy drinks and sports drinks. It also recommends that adults model healthy choices by not drinking energy drinks in front of children.
At home, parents can read labels with their children, choose water for hydration and talk about getting enough sleep instead of relying on a stimulant for a quick boost. The pediatrics academy stresses that caffeine cannot replace lost sleep.
Families should discuss their child’s caffeine use with a pediatrician, particularly when medications or health conditions are involved. The academy advises immediate medical help after a large amount of caffeine if a child develops symptoms such as a racing or irregular heartbeat, rapid breathing or uncontrollable shaking.
A familiar sports logo can make a product look like part of an athlete’s routine. It cannot tell a parent whether that drink belongs in a child’s diet.
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