Albury-Wodonga health experts say energy drinks like Prime not for kids

Their fears have been heightened by the popularity of Prime Hydration and Prime Energy drinks, released last year.

Created by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI, the drink comes in bright, colourful bottles with names such as Meta Moon and Ice Pop.

The sports drink-type beverage is 10 per cent coconut water and is promoted as sugar-free, but Prime Energy contains 200 milligrams of caffeine.

Mental health social worker Diana Rebuffo, of West Wodonga's Rise and Shine Counselling and Play Therapy, said she was quite concerned.

As it was, Ms Rebuffo said she had seen an increase in behaviour problems among children attending her practice over issues such as screen time, gaming and YouTube.

"It is a growing problem," she said.

"If a child has a sufficiently good-quality diet, there is no need for those sorts of energy drinks.

"Screen time, gaming, all that sort of stuff, it definitely is a growing problem, and it's only because there's just no parental control.

"There's not enough monitoring, not enough supervision, and it's completely overused. I've seen a myriad of negative impacts."

IN THE NEWS:

Ms Rebuffo said YouTube and the internet provided "instant gratification" for youngsters.

"Children are so used to everything happening really quick, lots of changes," she said.

"Endorphins are firing, the serotonin is firing and they're constantly looking for more and more things to stimulate them."

Albury paediatric dietitian Ciara Paramore said energy drinks should not be consumed by children.

"Yes, they have a high sugar content which is problematic for dental health," she said.

"But the larger concern is the stimulants such as caffeine and guarana.

"These stimulants can cause an increased heart rate, anxiety and sleep difficulties, amongst other unpleasant symptoms.

"The best drinks for children are water and milk."

Wodonga parent John Torpy said he stopped his children from drinking energy drinks because of the amount of caffeine.

Parent Rachel King, of Albury, said her children were obsessed with Prime thanks to YouTube but she had only let them have a taste of the drink.

"No way I'd be letting them drink bottle after bottle," she said.

Albury GP Dr Rebecca McGowan said she feared children were missing out on physical exercise and spending time with family.

"We have seen a big difference in kids, especially with the impact on gut health," she said.

Dr McGowan said having access to much screen time and energy drinks would affect "their immune system, their mental health and overall it's a negative impact".

"If they're saying yes to screen time, they're saying no to something else," she said.

Ms Rebuffo said the advertising for some energy drinks was clever in the way it "gets the kids in".

"It's all about fitting in and being like everybody else and believing in the spin," she said.

"Believing that it's going to give you this, that and the other. Where's their moral compass?

"Where's the ethical obligation to children's emotional and physical health?"

IT'S a myth that sugar is bad for children, an Albury dentist says, provided a disciplined approach is taken.

"Kids will be kids," Dr Ruchi Chandra said, noting how natural it was for children to love sweet treats.

"We want to encourage people to not have so much sugar, but also to have it all in moderation.

"It's cheap to buy junk food and lollies, so make a special occasion of it and make sure it's not every day."

However, an increase in children's sugar intake levels had the potential to cause dental health problems, and also some children "go unmissed and don't seek regular care".

Dr Chandra said children's diet and dental hygiene were important but "it's a broad topic".

"You don't know the knowledge of the parents (about balanced diets) or what type of environment they are in," she said.

Albury paediatric dietitian Ciara Paramore said it was important that children were offered foods from the core food groups regularly throughout the day to meet their nutritional needs.

"There is definitely room for fun foods, which may be high in sugar (such as chocolate, lollies, biscuits and cake)," she said. "These foods can be very enjoyable and there is no reason to totally restrict them. In fact, we know that significant restriction of these high-reward foods can result in a child or teenager who is not able to moderate their intake when they do get access to them."

Ms Paramore said she would advise "modelling a relaxed and moderate approach" by "regularly offering fun foods as part of a balanced diet".

Dr Chandra said it all began with having more awareness and early intervention. "Many people get a shock when you tell them that certain foods have sugar in them, such as muesli bars, or their diet isn't any good," she said.

Albury GP Dr Rebecca McGowan said the intake of sugary drinks could impact children's gut health, "they get full from them and aren't wanting nutritional food".

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: