In accordance with a authorities press release issued this week, round 100,000 youngsters within the UK eat no less than one high-caffeine power drink every single day, outlined as containing greater than 150 mg of caffeine per liter. The discharge cited rising proof linking these drinks to dangerous results on youngsters, together with disrupted sleep, elevated anxiousness, poor focus and lowered instructional outcomes.
New analysis performed in Germany means that it’s not simply the drinks themselves however that related way of life elements could also be detrimental for long-term cardiovascular well being.
“Though the current examine revealed no regarding outcomes with regard to quite a lot of cardiological parameters, EDs [energy drinks] ought to nonetheless be consumed with due care,” the researchers wrote within the European Journal of Epidemiology.
Power drink gross sales proceed to develop
Power drink corporations grew to become family names since their launch three many years in the past, with manufacturers akin to Purple Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Lucozade and Celsius holding market shares.
Market analysis from ResearchandMarkets estimates the worldwide power drink market (roughly $78 billion in 2025) will develop at a compound annual progress charge (CAGR) of 5.91% over the subsequent 5 years to achieve about $104 billion by the tip of the last decade. A spokesperson from Celsius advised sister title, BeverageDaily, that the corporate has skilled a 17% to 18% enhance in gross sales in latest weeks, which is attributed to a client pivot from chilly espresso to power drinks.
North America accounted for 37.1% of worldwide income in 2024, in response to Grand View Analysis. Nonetheless, Europe’s share is increasing and is predicted to develop at a CAGR of seven.1% from 2025 to 2030, influenced by growing curiosity in sports activities and health. Moreover, each rising and established power drink manufacturers are tapping right into a health-conscious market, specializing in useful advantages and wellness-enhancing formulations.
Some emerging brands are targeted on decreasing sugar as this is among the most important considerations cited by the UK authorities as a result of its hyperlink to increased weight problems charges amongst English youngsters.
How unhealthy is power drink consumption?
Power drinks sometimes comprise caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone and inositol. When consumed reasonably, they’ve been linked to enhanced alertness, improved bodily efficiency and higher cognitive efficiency when fatigued.
Analysis in adults, nonetheless, has additionally linked extreme power drink consumption with depressive signs, weight problems, kind 2 diabetes and cardiovascular points. Earlier analysis recognized associations with excessive or extreme consumption of alcohol or drug consumption, which may set off elevated blood strain, coronary heart rhythm disturbances, ischemia and tachycardia.
In accordance with a earlier European Meals Security Authority (EFSA) survey, almost one in three German adolescents usually eat power drinks: 19% a number of occasions a month, 8% a number of occasions per week and a couple of% every day. These minors type a key client group, however researchers have restricted knowledge on cardiovascular results in youngsters and adolescents. Whereas a 2015 EFSA evaluation discovered that single caffeine doses secure for adults additionally appeared secure for youth, few unbiased research examined acute average ED use in adolescents.
Outcomes from one examine confirmed that even average power drink consumption raises blood strain, alters coronary heart rhythm and impacts arterial stiffness in adolescents. No analysis has examined the cardiovascular affect of continual excessive power drink consumption in adolescents.
Teen power drink examine finds no direct coronary heart danger
Researchers investigated whether or not continual excessive power drink consumption impacts cardiovascular well being in a gropu of 5,100 Berlin adolescents, assessing each consumption and way of life habits by way of questionnaire. They then performed cardiological examininations of 97 continual excessive power drink customers (4 or extra per week for a 12 months) and 160 controls.
After measuring blood strain, coronary heart charge, ECG and echocardiography and contemplating danger elements like training, smoking, alcohol and sleep, the researchers reported no important variations in cardiological parameters between teams.
They did, nonetheless, discover that a good portion of continual excessive power drink customers mixed them with alcohol, have been extra prone to smoke or use hashish and had lowered sleep. The findings subsequently not directly linked continual excessive power consumption to lowered cardiovascular well being via unhealthy way of life elements.
“The current examine couldn’t detect any statistically important and/or clinically related variations in quite a lot of cardiological parameters,” the researchers wrote “Notably, individuals with a chronically excessive ED consumption tended to stick to a extra risk-tolerant way of life, significantly in relation to an elevated cardiovascular danger.”
Power drinks: Trigger or correlation?
Dr. Mark Tallon, managing companion on the Meals Legislation consultancy Authorized Meals, advised NutraIngredients that whereas the examine from the German Federal Institute for Threat Evaluation (BfR) is among the few research assessing the sub-chronic toxicity of caffeine containing power drinks, it had a number of limitations.
He famous that the conclusions from the BfR “appear to be framing the elevated consumption of tobacco, marijuana and alcohol as a being associated to power drinks.”
Whereas the BfR report prompt power drinks have been linked to those behaviors, Tallon mentioned it was unclear which manner the causality ran, questioning whether or not power drinks result in extra high-risk behaviors or if teenagers who already drink alcohol, smoke or sleep much less merely are likely to drink extra power drinks.
He added that the framing of the consequence may counsel a pre-existing bias in direction of a desired consequence, maybe because of the proposed coverage that power drinks and caffeine are unsafe.
Moreover, regardless of the outcomes, he famous that the BfR commentary within the press launch didn’t name into query EFSA tips.
EFSA’s opinion states that average consumption of power drinks by wholesome adults is usually secure however urges warning concerning excessive acute consumption, significantly amongst adolescents.
Supply: European Journal of Epidemiology. doi: 10.1007/s10654-025-01292-z. “Continual excessive consumption of power drinks and cardiovascular danger in adolescents—outcomes of the EDKAR-study”. Authors: Menzel, J. et al.
