Health researchers have identified a surprising new predictor for risky behavior among teenagers and young adults: the energy drink. Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade. About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the United States. The trend has been the source of growing concern among health researchers and school officials.
Around the country, the drinks have been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits. New research suggests the drinks are associated with a health issue far more worrisome than the jittery effects of caffeine, Risk Taking.
In March, The Journal of American College Health published a report on the link between energy drinks, athletics and risky behavior. The study's author, Kathleen Miller, an addiction researcher at the University of Buffalo, says it suggests that high consumption of energy drinks is associated with "toxic jock" behavior, a constellation of risky and aggressive behaviors including unprotected sex, substance abuse and violence.
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1 comment:
Hey, John. I ran across your blog looking for another John Riley, and I found you instead. I like what you write and your topics are short & interesting...how can I get both of them to come to my inbox daily so I can remember to read them, like a daily headline link to your site here? I am a Christian, 47, live in Boulder, Co, and have alot in common with you (my name is even Lisah, like your wife), and I would like to link up with your blogs but am a techno-tard, and do not know how to do it, and with my hectic daily schedule, might not remember to sdo so without an email to click on to your site. Let me know, ok? thanks!
Blessings,
Lisah Brown
set2jet@earthlink.net
:)
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