Call for urgent action to stop children buying sugar-packed oversized energy drinks

OVERSIZED energy drinks should be banned, says a leading nutritionist, after a study revealed sugar and caffeine content remained high despite reformulation ahead of a soft drinks levy.

While some manufacturers reduced the sugar content to avoid the levy next April, the large containers that many come in mean that youngsters are still taking on too much sugar and caffeine.

According to a study by Action on Sugar (AOS) in the journal BMJ Open, energy drinks showed a 10 per cent reduction in sugar from 10.6g to 9.5g per 100ml and a 6 per cent reduction in calorie content per 100ml between 2015 and this year.

But typical servings were larger than other sugar-sweetened drinks, at an “excessive” 500ml. And youngsters in the UK were among the highest consumers in Europe. Kawther Hashem, a nutritionist for AOS at Queen Mary University, London, and co-author of the study, said: “While it’s encouraging to see that some energy drinks manufacturers have reduced sugar in advance of the levy next spring, the huge 500ml can and bottle sizes mean youngsters are still consuming far too much sugar and caffeine. It’s clear that further reductions are urgently needed, and that they should get rid of large serving sizes. Action must be taken now.”

Prof Graham Macgregor, AOS chairman, said that sugar intake was linked to obesity, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Gavin Partington, of the British Soft Drinks Association, said many manufacturers followed a code of practice not to aim the drinks at children and many products were labelled “Not recommended for children”.

He added: “Energy drinks have been deemed safe by regulatory authorities around the world.”