Young people who regularly consume more energy drinks than their peers are at a higher risk of alcohol and drug abuse.
This is what a study conducted by the University of Maryland, published earlier this month, has revealed.
An increasing number of people are unaware of the dangers and health risks associated with consuming energy drinks daily.
“Increased consumption of energy drinks can become a problem for overall health, especially among young people,” stated the World Health Organization in a 2014 report.
Earlier this year, a 16-year-old in the United States died from consuming excessive amounts of caffeine-containing beverages and energy drinks.
Simply put: it’s not good for you.
A new study by researchers from the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland has uncovered yet another negative finding about these drinks, which are equally popular among young people.
The researchers claim that the energy drink is not only bad for your health, but young individuals who consume it regularly are more likely to develop addiction to alcohol and drugs later in life.
The study was published in the medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
The researchers tracked the consumption of 1,100 high school students for four years.
51.4% of the participants regularly consumed energy drinks, often in large quantities. While 20.6% did not consume any energy drinks at all.
17.4% of the participants occasionally drank an energy drink, and 10.4% consumed them infrequently, with decreasing frequency each year.
One of the conclusions drawn by the researchers was that young people who regularly consumed large quantities of energy drinks had a higher risk of using other substances and were more prone to alcoholism.
This could mean that in the future, energy drinks will be treated similarly to tobacco and alcohol.
Studies also indicate that heart issues are strongly linked to beverages with high caffeine content, according to the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
What do you think? Should energy drinks be treated the same as cigarettes and alcohol and be kept away from children?
Please let us know your thoughts by commenting. And consider sharing this article to inform more people about the dangers of energy drinks!
