DETROIT – High school sports practices are just around the corner, and those workouts often go hand-in-hand with sports drinks.
But are sports drinks necessary or healthy for teenage athletes?
When children exercise vigorously, especially in the heat, it's important to stay hydrated. But marketing aside, the best choice is plain water.
With prolonged activity there is a larger burn of stored sugars in the body and loss of electrolytes in sweat. But sports drinks still aren't usually necessary.
Recent research shows sports drinks are still a popular choice among teenagers, and it's not just athletes.
"What is happening is that sports drink consumption is decreasing overall," said Diana Schnee, RD, at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital. "However, the kids who probably need the sports drinks the least are still consuming them regularly."
The study looked at surveys of high school students and found that consumption of sports drinks is especially high among athletic and sedentary teens
Families often think that sports drinks are a health alternative to soda, but that's a myth. Most sweetened sports drinks have about the same amount of sugar as a can of pop.
While one can of soda contains about 40 grams of sugar, a sports drink contains about 36 grams. Sports drinks marketed as zero calories aren't a better choice because they contain artificial sweeteners that aren't healthy for children.
"Treat a sports drink like you would a can of soda, or even a glass of juice -- which we regularly talk to families about -- is not necessarily healthier," Schnee said. "Although it might have some added vitamins and minerals that some other products don't have, it's still basically liquid sugar, and children, especially those who are sedentary, do not need additional sugar-sweetened beverages."
A sports drink can be helpful if a child is doing very intense exercise for more than 60 minutes. They might need extra sources of carbohydrates, but they could also get that through eating fresh fruit or dried fruit.