Looking Beyond the Market Claims of New Beverages: Health Risks of Consuming Sports Drinks, Energy Drinks, Fortified Waters, and other Flavored Beverages

Policy Summary

This paper examines consumption of energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit water, flavored water, and sweetened coffee and tea to determine if consumption of these beverages is associated with health risks. To do this, Crawford compiles the nutritional information and reviews each drink. Although these beverages are marketed as healthy, the risks of consuming these drinks are greater than the benefits. The sugar content and presence of certain additives can lead to negative health outcomes such as overweight and obesity. Given this, parents should be wary of the marketing claims made by beverage companies and should limit the quantity of these beverages that they feed to their children.

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