Children and adolescents drink more energy drinks than before. The Consumer Council is concerned about sleep disorders and other health problems and reiterates its call for an age limit.
– After a decline in 2019, we are now seeing a sharp increase in consumption. This development is particularly disturbing among the youngest children taking part in the survey, where one in four people aged ten to twelve who say they drink energy drinks say they do so every week, says Inger Lise Blyverket, CEO at the Consumer Council.
Growth is greatest among girls and younger age groups. According to a poll this spring, 43 percent of those who drink energy drinks do so every week.
Between 2015 and 2020, total energy drink trade in Norway increased from 19 to 55 million liters - almost tripling in six years.
Blyverket believes the authorities must now take measures and underlines the desire to limit the age to 16. My concern is that children are consuming so much caffeine:
- Children have a lower tolerance to caffeine because they have a low body weight. In doing so, they risk sleep disturbance and other negative health effects with very little consumption. In addition, it can be addictive, says Blyverket.
Source: NTB
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
