When children in the U.S. ask to share in their parents' daily coffee ritual, they frequently receive the answer, "Not until you're older," and with good reason. Although studies haven't supported the popular assertion that it stunts kids' growth, there are a number of other ways in which children are more vulnerable to the effects of caffeine than are their adult counterparts.
Lower Toxicological Limit for Children
Because children are smaller than adults, a given dose of caffeine will affect them more intensely. So while the New Zealand Food Safety Authority reported in 2000 an adverse effect level of 3 milligrams daily per kilogram of body weight across the board, it translated this to only 95 milligrams of caffeine daily for children between the ages of 5 and 12 as opposed to a 210-milligram daily limit for adults. Additionally, children's nervous systems are still undergoing development. Because of this, an assessment undertaken in 2002 by Health Canada suggested basing risk assessments on an even lower toxicological limit for children of 2.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight daily.
Greater Behavioral and Cardiac Impact on Children
A February 2011 article in the journal "Pediatrics" cites a study comparing the effects of caffeine on 26 male children to the effects on 26 male adults that demonstrated more significant behavioral impact on the boys than on the men. The boys exhibited more increased motor activity and speech rates than the men did. The boys also had further decreased reaction times. Additionally, the caffeine dose administered during the study significantly lowered the boys' heart rates while not affecting those of the men at all.
Energy Drink Marketing and Labeling
The "Pediatrics" article points out that 30 to 50 percent of adolescents and young adults consume "energy drink" products, and that manufacturers specifically market their drinks to youth via placement in social networks, sporting events and video games. And it's not uncommon for energy drinks to contain 70 to 80 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce serving -- three times the concentration in a similar serving of cola. This means a single energy drink retail unit often surpasses the recommended safe daily limit of caffeine for children and teens. Yet in the U.S. there is no legal limit on caffeine content in energy drinks. They fall under the category of "dietary supplement" and thus escape the scrutiny that food and drugs are subject to. And the portion of the drink's caffeine that comes from herbal additives -- like guarana, which can raise the caffeine content by 40 to 80 milligrams -- need not be mentioned on the label at all.
Effects on Toddlers
Parents in coffee-producing Guatemala introduce coffee to their children at a much younger age than do their counterparts in the U.S. There, sweetened coffee is one of the first liquids infants receive after breast milk. In a study published in January 1999 in "Early Human Development," researchers performed a study of Guatemalan toddlers between 12 and 24 months of age, dividing participants into a control group whose intake of coffee remained unchanged and an "intervention group" whose parents gave them a brown, sugar-sweetened coffee substitute for the duration of the study. By the end of the five months, the intervention group was sleeping an average of 10.3 hours at night, while the control group was averaging less than 10 hours at night.
Prolonged sleep deprivation in infants and toddlers can impact their long-term development, which makes them more vulnerable than adults to caffeine's effects. For instance, a study published in September 2010 in "Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine" analyzing data in 1997 and 2002 suggested that U.S. children under the age of 5 who get less than 10 hours of sleep at night are at greater risk for obesity later in life.
References
- The Straight Dope: Does Caffeine Stunt Your Growth?
- New Zealand Food Safety Authority: Caffeine: Information Sheet
- Pediatrics: Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults
- Early Human Development: Effects of Discontinuing Coffee Intake on Iron Deficient Guatemalan Toddlers' Cognitive Development and Sleep
- The Chart: Study: Lack of Sleep for Babies and Toddlers May Increase Obesity Risk
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