There has been a great deal of heated controversy about the potential for dangerous side effects from drinking too many energy drinks. This has lead to advice by the American Academy of Pediatrics against the consumption of energy drinks by teens. Nevertheless, as reported upon on february, by Norris Cotton Cancer Center Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center marketing of energy drinks is placed on TV channels that appeal to teens.
The manufacturers of energy drinks have been marketing most of their products on television channels which are likely appeal to teen audiences. First author Jennifer Emond, PhD says the findings from this study are relevant to anyone who is concerned about child health. This study was the first to quantify airtime which is devoted to energy drink advertisements placed on national network and on cable television.
It is suggested that energy drink manufacturers could change their placement of advertisements on TV to avoid reaching a primarily a teen audience. This is significant because the American Academy of Pediatrics has advised against energy drink consumption among kids and adolescents because it may result in serious health consequences for some kids.
Another serious problem which has emerged with energy drink consumption among teens has been the mixing of these drinks with alcohol. A previous study which was done by the Dartmouth group demonstrated that adolescents who had at sometime mixed energy drinks with alcohol were four times as likely to take part in binge drinking in comparison to their peers who had never mixed energy drinks with alcohol.
This study has been published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The researchers concluded that energy drink manufacturers primarily place their advertisements on channels which are likely to appeal to adolescents. Dr Edmond says that parents should be aware that their kids are being exposed to energy drink advertisements when they are viewing certain channels.
It has been suggested that nutritionists may want to consider energy drink media literacy when giving advice to adolescents about energy drink consumption. Sadly we are seeing with the energy drink industry as is true with so many other lucrative industries such as sugared soda pop and psychiatric drugs that the huge profits involved generally outweigh concerns for the actual health of the consumer.
