The growing concern of energy drink consumption and Australian adolescent health

We have previously looked at the importance of adolescent health in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this article we look at the intake of energy drinks in Australian adolescents and find their consumption occurs amidst unhealthy dietary behaviours and sleep insufficiency.

Obesity and being overweight are linked to increases in non-communicable disease risk. It is well known that sugary drinks have been linked with obesity, so on the back of a concerted public health effort to reduce their consumption, sales of ‘soft drinks’ have fallen. Alarmingly however, over the last two decades, energy drink sales have increased. These drinks contain large amounts of sugar and caffeine and are linked to heart palpitations, hypertension, cardiac arrest and even sudden death, according to the Heart Foundation.¹