Page 98 - Healthy food

Talking point

Sugary caffeinated energy drinks are a
disaster for our children’s health, says Jamie
Oliver. He’s urging us to join in the campaign
to take the fizz out of this addictive habit

E HAVE A PROBLEM IN THE taste anything. I’m convinced synthetic
UK. Some people would say energy drinks damage our ability to
Wwe have many problems, but enjoy more natural flavours.
childhood obesity is one we simply can’t It’s a dangerous cycle that’s destroying
ignore. Interlinked with childhood obesity their health, nutrition and ability to
is a problem I’ve personally watched concentrate at school. While the
explode over the past 15 years, and that government is talking about a strong
is the normalisation of energy drinks. economy, these drinks are eroding the
These drinks are everywhere. They’re next generation’s productivity every day.
in lunchboxes and school bags, kids are Parents, teachers and schools can’t
drinking them on the walk to school, on fight this battle on their own. We need
the bus home, when they wake up and the government to step in. Just like
before they go to sleep. And the worst scratch cards, cigarettes and alcohol, kids
thing is that so many kids use them to should not be able to buy energy drinks
replace proper meals – which, in my view, ^ The wider effects on their lunch break. Or ever! We need
means more than double the damage. of energy drinks are as to control access to these dangerous
Plus – and hear me out – I believe the bad as passive smoking products. I’m talking about a properly
wider effects are just as bad as passive _ enforced ban on the sale of energy
smoking. The way energy drinks impact drinks to children under the age of 16.
on behaviour, concentration and up to 16tsp per 500ml can or bottle. Many UK schools have banned them
productivity in schools affects everyone Children aged six to 10 should be having in classrooms and it’s brilliant that
in the classroom, whether they’re the a maximum of 6tsp worth of sugar a day Waitrose announced it will restrict the
kids drinking these drinks or not. and over-11s a maximum of 7tsp. And it sale of these drinks to kids. But we need
doesn’t stop there – ingredients like more. A study of Scottish 13 to 15-year-
So what’s actually in these drinks? taurine and guarana are often put into olds found that 41% buy a sugary drink,
Well, first up, did you know that almost these drinks, and researchers don’t including energy drinks, on their lunch
every single can of energy drink has the know yet if these are safe for kids. break, even though they’re banned
words ‘not recommended for children’ But these drinks aren’t just unhealthy – inside the school gates. How can parents
printed on it? That’s because the levels of they’re incredibly addictive, too. The and teachers stop that without help?
caffeine are deemed unsafe for children. kids and teachers I’ve spoken to describe Action needs to come from the top, it
The best-known brands that come in a daily pattern where kids need an energy needs to be nationwide and it needs to
250ml cans contain 80mg caffeine, while drink to get out of bed, then another be now. Join the conversation and help
500ml bottles and cans have a whacking one to deal with the mid-morning crash, me tell Jeremy Hunt and Theresa May
160mg. Children and adolescents and maybe even a third to get through this really matters – for all of us! There’s
shouldn’t have more than 3mg caffeine the afternoon. All that means their sleep a lot at stake for schools and for parents,
per kg of bodyweight in a single ‘dose’. is properly disrupted, they feel knackered not to mention the NHS, which has to deal
In other words, a 30kg 10-year-old in the morning… So they need an energy with the health issues linked to excessive
shouldn’t have more than 90mg caffeine drink to get up. You get the picture. sugar consumption, including tooth
max. If they down two 250ml cans or one decay, and obesity.
500ml can they’re way over straightaway. What’s it doing to their taste buds? Ultimately, this is about the health and
When we made flavoured water on [C4’s] happiness of our kids. Please join me
Caffeine isn’t the only problem Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, and use the hashtag #NotForChildren to
The average energy drink also contains me and the crew thought it was let the government know this problem PHOTO: GETTY
7tsp-worth of sugar per 250ml can, and delicious – but the school kids couldn’t won’t go away on its own.

98 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE FEBRUARY 2018