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Caffeine consumption common among children, study finds

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 3, 2011

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About 75% of children age 5 to 12 consume caffeine each day, according to a study posted online Dec. 15, 2010, in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center surveyed parents of 201 children on their offspring's caffeine consumption during routine clinical visits to an urban outpatient pediatric clinic. Parents were asked to report the type and amount of snacks and beverages their children consumed daily.

Researchers found that children age 5 to 7 consumed an average of 52 mg of caffeine per day. The figure was 109 mg each day -- the equivalent of almost three 12-ounce cans of soda -- for children ages 8 to 12, according to the study (link).

Caffeine intake was not linked to bedwetting. But researchers found that the more caffeine children ingested, the less they slept. The authors recommend that physicians screen children's caffeine consumption when evaluating behavioral health concerns.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/01/03/prbf0103.htm.

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