Children’s and young adults’ average caffeine consumption has increased by more than 70 per cent over the past 30 years, and an end to this rise is not in sight: the drinks industry is posting its fastest-growing sales in the segment of caffeine-laden energy drinks. Not everybody is pleased about this development. Some people are worried about possible health risks caused in young consumers by the pick-me-up.
Researchers from the University Children’s Hospital Zurich are now adding new arguments to the debate. In their recently published study conducted on rats, the conclusions call for caution: in pubescent rodents, caffeine intake equating to three to four cups of coffee per day in humans results in reduced deep sleep and a delayed brain development.
The slower maturing process in the brain also had an impact on behaviour: rats normally become more curious with age, but the rats consuming caffeine remained timid and cautious.
Here is the peer-reviewed journal entry.
And if you ask yourselves “who lets their children drink the equivalent of 3-4 cups of coffee (in caffeine) per day?”. Let me remind you that caffeine is in most of the soft drinks, Mountain Dew, Pepsi. All marketing to kids and parents.
– via snf.ch