Are Sports Drinks Okay for Kids?

From Medscape Orthopaedics > Viewpoints

Joseph K. Lee, MD

Clinical Report: Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?

Committee on Nutrition and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness
Pediatrics. 2011;127:1182-1189

Summary

Sports drinks and energy drinks are now popular beverages in the United States, particularly among children and adolescents. Kids consume sports and energy drinks as a way to stay hydrated during athletics or other activities. However, careful consideration is necessary when selecting a beverage to hydrate before, during, or after exercise to prevent excessive sugar and caloric intake that may encourage dental erosion and obesity.
The Committee on Nutrition and The Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reviewed literature from 2000-2009 regarding the use of such drinks in the child and adolescent populations and recommended the following:

• Consumption of sports and energy drinks is not advocated in children and adolescents unless they are participating in prolonged and strenuous physical activities.


• Instead of sports and energy drinks, increased fluid intake before, during, and after exercise to prevent dehydration with regular water should be recommended.


• Children and adolescents should avoid exposure to excess sugar, caffeine, carbohydrates, and other stimulants that are contained in many of these drinks due to the potential for a number of deleterious health effects.

Viewpoint

The AAP promotes education and counseling of patients, parents, schools, and coaches about fluid intake for children and adolescents. The AAP also continues to advocate the use of water over sports and energy drinks for hydration purposes.
Poor dietary habits have contributed to increased obesity rates in children and adolescents in recent years, and the intake of excess carbohydrates without an appropriate sustained increase in activity level is not recommended given the main requirement of hydration.
Abstract

Snoring at Night May Affect Kids’ Daytime Behavior

As any parent knows, an exhausted child is an ill-behaved one. So it’s no surprise that a new study finds that young children who snore persistently — which can disrupt the quality of their sleep — are more likely to have behavioral problems like hyperactivity, depression and inattention than kids who don’t snore. “A lot of kids snore every so often, and cartoons make snoring look cute or funny. But loud snoring that lasts for months is not normal,” said lead author and neuropsychologist Dean Beebe of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in a statement, “and anything that puts young kids at that much risk for behavioral problems is neither cute nor funny.”

Previous studies have associated persistent snoring with new or worsening behavior problems in older children, but the authors of the new research say the effects of chronic snoring haven’t been studied in very young children until now, even though symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing spike at about age 2 or 3. “Care decisions for preschool-aged children who snore are based on guidelines developed largely for older children,” the authors write, noting that doctors must resort to weighing the real, if rare, risks of such interventions as surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids (enlargement of which often causes snoring) against the suspected but unknown risks associated with snoring.

The current study, published Monday in Pediatrics, seeks to clarify some of those risks. Researchers tracked 249 children and their mothers, who were enrolled in an ongoing study of children’s health beginning in 2003 when the mothers were still pregnant. When their children were aged 2, and again when they were 3, the mothers completed questionnaires about the kids’ snoring and behavior.

Most children (170, or 68% of the group) were classified as non-snorers; their mothers reported them snoring only rarely at both age 2 and 3. Fifty-seven kids (23%) fell into the “transient” snoring category, snoring loudly at least twice a week at either age 2 or 3, but not at both time points. And a smaller number of children (22, or 9% of the group) snored persistently, two or more times a week at age 2 and 3.

The researchers found that the persistent snorers had significantly worse behavior, particularly when it came to hyperactivity, attention and depression, than non-snorers or transient snorers — an association that remained even after the authors adjusted for other factors like gender, race and socioeconomic status. Thirty-five percent of persistent snorers showed “at risk” behavior, compared with 10% of non-snorers and 12% of transient snorers, the study found.

“Snoring can disrupt the quality of sleep, and a tired toddler has a much lower tolerance for frustration. When you add chronicity to the problem, over time, that lack of sleep sets up negative interactions within the toddler’s environment, which may change the way they respond,” Beebe told HealthDay. “This is a developing brain. The connections that are made and retained are about their experiences. A lack of sleep could fundamentally alter those experiences.”

A

s in previous studies of older children, the researchers didn’t see differences in intellectual or motor development in 2- or 3-year-olds based on snoring. Also, because of the study’s observational design, the researchers couldn’t definitively say that snoring caused kids’ behavior problems, only that there was an association. The study did identify certain predictors of persistent snoring, however: snorers were more likely to be African American and of low socioeconomic status. Further, among the non-African American children in the study (94% of whom were white), snorers were more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke.

Another strong predictor of snoring: how long kids were breast-fed. None of the children in the study who were breast-fed for more than 12 months developed persistent snoring, but nearly a quarter of those who were never breast-fed or who nursed for less than a month became chronic snorers. Again, the associations held up after the researchers controlled for confounding demographic factors.

The researchers note that previous studies have also linked breast-feeding to risks of sleep-disordered breathing, finding that kids who were nursed longer between 2 and 5 months of age were less likely to develop sleep apnea. It’s not clear why that’s so, but scientists have suggested that breast-feeding helps babies develop healthy upper airway structures and that breast milk may offer immune protection against infections that encourage sleep-disordered breathing.

Based on their findings, the authors urge pediatricians to screen preschool-age children for loud, chronic snoring, especially in poorer or black families. “Failing to screen, or taking a ‘wait and see’ approach on snoring, could make preschool behavior problems worse,” said Beebe. “I encourage parents to talk to their child’s doctor about loud snoring, especially if it happens a lot and persists over time.”

Health Land

Kids Asthma Causes

Many factors can lead to asthma in children; for example: environmental triggers, genes and asthma history of the family, diet, infections, allergies and hormonal changes. 

Here is a brief overview of these factors:

1. Asthma runs in families. If somebody in the family has asthma, the child is likely to get it too. Hay fever and eczema have also been linked to asthma.


2. Children with smoking mothers or those exposed to cigarette smoke are likely to develop asthma.


3. Asthma can occur at any age. Exposure to certain trigger substances like pollens, smoke, dust, animal hair, fungus and dust mites can cause asthma attacks. Flu and cold are also highly responsible for asthma attacks.


4. Strong smells, chemical fumes, household sprays, paints and perfumes are likely to trigger an attack.


5. Exercise and play, emotional reactions like laughing can serve as triggers.


6. Environment plays a big role. Sudden changes in temperature are responsible for asthma in kids.


7. Food colorings, additives, medications can also be potentially dangerous.


8. There is an ongoing speculation that obesity too might lead to asthma. Pollution and exertion or exercise can also reinforce the cause behind asthma. Care must be taken to protect asthmatic kids from these factors.

Flu Vaccine Safe For Kids With Severe Egg Allergy

Flu Vaccine Safe For Kids With Severe Egg Allergy
Seasonal influenza vaccines appeared safe in children with the most severe allergies to egg protein, according to a trial reported here. Among 28 children with proven egg allergies, many of whom had previously experienced anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) after eating egg products, none developed serious reactions after vaccination with either single or split doses of a trivalent flu vaccine, said Matthew Greenhawt, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Similar results were seen in a review of 32 children with documented egg allergies who received seasonal flu vaccines at the study sites during routine practice, Greenhawt told attendees at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology annual meeting. Until this year, a history of egg allergy was considered a contraindication to flu vaccines, which are generated in chicken eggs and contain small residual quantities of ovalbumin. In June, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to drop the limitation, after reviewing data from clinical trials that had included children with egg allergies. In the 17 published studies on the topic, none of the more than 2,600 patients with confirmed egg allergy had a serious reaction to influenza vaccination. That included about 200 patients with severe egg allergy. Only a small percentage of patients had mild reactions, such as hives or wheezing. John Oppenheimer, MD, who is in private practice in Summit, N.J., commented that previous studies had already persuaded most allergists that egg sensitivity is no longer a serious concern with flu vaccines. 

Source: MedPage Today