Excerpt from USA Today, February 14, 2011

Popular energy drinks can be dangerous for children and teens. They are understudied and overused. A doctors’ report warns that kids should not drink the beverages.

Steven Lipschultz, pediatrics chairman at the University of Miami’s medical school, and one of the authors of the report, states, “We would discourage the routine use” by children and teens of these beverages.

Potential harms from the caffeine, or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes, and even sudden death. This report was published in the medical journal “Pediatrics”. Data from government and interest groups, scientific literature, case reports and medical articles were all reviewed by the authors. It notes that some servings of energy drinks contain four to five times more caffeine than soda.