Teens: Stay off the Coffee
May 6, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It may be the jolt you need first thing in the morning, but new research shows caffeine consumption may be the culprit of hypertension in adolescents.
Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta studied the fluid consumption of nearly 160 healthy adolescents between 15 and 19 years old.
The data showed individuals who consumed more than 100 milligrams daily of caffeine – the equivalent of about four 12-ounce sodas -- had the highest blood pressure. The number with the more serious impact was the systolic pressure, which indicates the pressure in the blood vessels that the heart must beat against.
Margaret R. Savoca, Ph.D., lead author of the study, says, "It is important to keep in mind that caffeine could also be a marker, an indicator of a lot of other practices that impact blood pressure."
A second study sponsored by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health shows during the past decade blood pressure has increased in adolescents, this time blame being attributed to obesity.
SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics, 2004;158:473-477 and The Journal of American Medial Association, 2004;291:2107-2113
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