A
group
of
physicians
and
scientists
are
calling
on
the
National
Collegiate
Athletic
Association
(NCAA)
to
make
changes
to
its
massive
collaboration
between
Big
12
athletics
and
Monster
Energy,
citing
potential
health
risks
and
teen
deaths
associated
with
energy-drink
consumption.

As
part
of
the
partnership

announced
last
month,
Big
12
football
and
basketball
athletes
will
don
Monster
Energy-branded
jerseys
during
the
regular
seasons,
and
the
fields
and
courts
where
teams
play
will
display
the
popular
energy
drink’s
logo.

Virginia-based
ophthalmologist
David
Jacobs,
MD,
noticed
the
prominent
branding
of
the
energy
drink
when
he
went
to
visit
his
kid’s
Big
12
school,
and
later
became
concerned
about
how
the
campaign
could
influence
children.

Jacobs
is
an
alum
of
a
Big
12
school,
as
is
his
friend,
Idaho-based
cardiologist
Matthew
Nelson,
MD.
The
two
began
reaching
out
to
other
cardiologists
and
created
the

Protect
Young
Fans
public
health
initiative,
which,
as
of
press
time,
has
gathered
over
250
signatures
on
their

petition
asking
the
NCAA
to
end
the
Monster
Energy
partnership.

“We’re
concerned
about
an
increase
in
energy
drink
consumption
among
children
and
youth,”
Jacobs
told

MedPage
Today.
He
noted
that
with
high-profile
Big
12
sports
in
particular,
impressionable
kids
will
be
looking
up
to
and
copying
their
sports
idols.

Their
concerns
are
not
abstract,
according
to
an
email
to
NCAA
leadership
from
Jacobs,
Nelson,
and
other
physicians
and
scientists
that
was
shared
with

MedPage
Today.

“American
teenagers
and
young
athletes
—
including
14-year-old

Anais
Fournier,
16-year-old

Davis
Allen
Cripe,
and
17-year-old

Larissa
Rodriguez
—
have
died
following
cardiac
events
reported
in
association
with
energy-drink
consumption,”
they
wrote.

They
cited
survey
findings
on
young
people
who
experienced
sudden
cardiac
arrest
or
death
showing
that

nearly
20%
had
consumed
energy
drinks
regularly.
Randomized
trial
data
in
healthy
kids
have
also
shown
increases
in
blood
pressure
and
supraventricular
extrasystoles
after
energy
drink
consumption,
along
with
altered
heart-rate
variability.

“These
findings
establish
that
the
cardiovascular
effects
are
real,
reproducible,
and
measurable
in
children
—
and
that
a
susceptible
child
may
appear
entirely
healthy
until
the
moment
a
stimulant
trigger,
an
occult
cardiac
substrate,
and
physiologic
stress
converge,”
according
to
the
letter.

The
17
other
physicians
and
scientists
asked
that
the
NCAA:

1. “Refer
   this
   issue
   to
   the
   NCAA
   Sport
   Science
   Institute
   and
   the
   Committee
   on
   Competitive
   Safeguards
   and
   Medical
   Aspects
   of
   Sports
   for
   an
   independent,
   multidisciplinary
   review”
2. “Ask
   the
   Big
   12
   to
   voluntarily
   pause
   youth-facing
   activation
   of
   the
   partnership
   —
   particularly
   branding
   on
   student-athlete
   uniforms,
   fields,
   courts,
   student
   sections,
   and
   conference-controlled
   media
   likely
   to
   reach
   minors
   —
   while
   that
   review
   is
   conducted”
3. “Develop
   NCAA
   guidance
   for
   member
   institutions
   and
   conferences
   on
   youth-visible
   sponsorship
   of
   energy
   drinks
   and
   other
   high-stimulant
   products,
   including
   the
   clear
   distinction
   between
   energy
   drinks
   and
   sports
   or
   hydration
   beverages”

While
the
Big
12
is
a
college
sports
conference,
Jacobs
argues
it’s
still
a
youth-facing
organization
that
does
outreach
to
children,
including
field
days.

The
presence
of
energy
drinks
in
sports
is
hardly
new;
some
student
athletes
have
signed
brand
deals
and
other
athletic
organizations
have
had
partnerships
with
energy
drink
companies.
Recently,
on
July
1,
NCAA

lifted
its
longstanding
ban
on
energy
drink
television
advertising.
Ironically,
NCAA
has
a
threshold
for
caffeine
consumption
for
its
athletes.
While
not
completely
banned,
caffeine
is
still
listed
alongside

banned
stimulants
like
cocaine
and
amphetamine
on
the
NCAA
website.

Alcohol
brands
also
sponsor
and
heavily
advertise
in
sports,
but
Jacobs
noted
that
there
are
already
federal
laws
that
limit
who
can
purchase
those
products,
whereas
kids
and
teens
can
walk
into
a
store
and
buy
an
energy
drink,
which
most
often
come
in
appealing
fruit
and
candy
flavors.

Beyond
potential
heart
problems,
an
American
Medical
Association
(AMA)
spokesperson
told

MedPage
Today
that
highly
caffeinated
energy
drinks
“may
lead
to
a
host
of
health
problems
in
young
people,”
including
anxiety
and
sleep
disturbances.

“Banning
companies
from
marketing
these
products
to
adolescents
is
a
commonsense
action
that
we
can
take
to
protect
the
health
of
American
kids,”
they
noted.

An
AMA
policy
initiative
supports
banning
marketing
energy
drinks
to
people
under
18,
“including
opposing
commercial
advertising,
sponsorships,
and
promotional
practices
that
target
or
appeal
to
children
and
adolescents.”

The
Protect
Young
Fans
website
homes
in
on
the
potential
cardiac
risks
of
excessive
caffeine
consumption
for
young
people,
citing
the
policies
of
AMA
and
other
major
medical
organizations
on
energy
drinks
and
kids.
For
instance,
the
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics

policy
states
that
“energy
drinks
containing
stimulants
should
never
be
consumed
by
children
and
adolescents.”

While
far
more
research
on
this
topic
is
needed,
especially
on
younger
patients,
the
existing
literature
suggests
that
energy
drinks
and
excessive
caffeine
place
stress
on
the
heart,
Gregory
Marcus,
MD,
a
cardiac
electrophysiologist
at
the
University
of
California
San
Francisco,
told

MedPage
Today.

Marcus,
who
is
not
involved
in
the
Protect
Young
Fans
initiative,
noted
that
while
some
research
has
suggested
that
adults
who
consume
naturally
occurring
caffeine
like
coffee
or
tea
in
moderation
may
glean
some
heart
benefits,
research
in
kids
and
adolescents
is
more
sparse.

“What
little
we
do
know
…
suggests
that
energy
drinks,
in
particular,
may
actually
promote
dangerous
rhythms
and
heart
failure,
even
in
young,
otherwise
healthy
people,
such
as
teenagers,”
Marcus
said.
As
people
often
get
dehydrated
while
playing
sports,
Marcus
noted
concern
about
people
drinking
highly
concentrated
energy
drinks
while
volume
depleted.

Regarding
partnerships
between
energy
drink
brands
and
major
athletic
organizations,
Marcus
said,
“there
is
a
problematic
implication
that
these
energy
drinks
are
somehow
related
to
the
athleticism,
physical
prowess,
or
the
success
…
of
the
people
promoting
it,
and
there’s
really
no
evidence
that
these
energy
drinks
improve
health
really
in
any
circumstance,
nor
even
good
evidence
they
enhance
performance.”
Even
if
there
was,
he
said
there’s
also
no
good
evidence
that
potential
benefits
outweigh
risks,
“especially
to
the
cardiovascular
health
system,
especially
in
young
impressionable
kids.”

An
NCAA
spokesperson
told

MedPage
Today
that
“NCAA
membership
is
responsible
for
making
rules
and
regulations,
which
the
national
office
interprets
and
enforces
for
the
membership”
and
that
“if
members
want
to
make
or
change
a
policy,
they
can
do
so
through
the
governance
process.”

Monster
Energy
and
Big
12
did
not
respond
to

MedPage
Today‘s
request
for
comment
as
of
press
time.

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