Study: Energy drinks may increase kids' risk of hyperactivity

It may seem obvious, but a team of researchers from the Yale School of Public Health have confirmed that you should not give energy drinks to your kids.

The researchers surveyed 1,649 students in fifth, seventh, and eighth grades about their beverage consumption and found that the children who drank sweetened energy drinks were 66 percent more at risk for hyperactivity.

The study, published in the journal Academic Pediatrics, found that unlike soda or juice, "only energy drinks were associated with greater risk of hyperactivity/inattention." Energy drinks usually contain taurine or guarana, and the researchers believe those ingredients, combined with caffeine, were the cause of the problem.

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Time notes that the researchers did not definitively prove that the energy drinks caused the kids' hyperactivity and inattentiveness. Still, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children don't consume energy drinks.