AdvoCare Followup
Back on Monday, DadTalk posted (note that I correctly linked this time) information about AdvoCare's KickStart Spark drink, a kid's "nutritional supplement" that includes caffeine as one of the "nutrients." I posted some additional information here in this blog (plus some other junk which is of minimal interest to my above-average readership).
Well, DadTalk has returned with a new commentary, in the form of a response to AdvoCare's response to the New York Times article that started the brouhaha in the first place. Here's a sample (go here to read the entire response). AdvoCare's comments are italic, DadTalk's are bold.
[C]affeine is not a banned substance by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the International Olympic Committee or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It is a regulated ingredient, and AdvoCare fully supports such regulations.
If caffeine is regulated, why should we be giving it to kids at all?
The Sarasota Herald Tribune has more to say:
The company's marketing materials describe the drink as a way to kick-start the morning for children as young as 4. The company Web site, adorned with a picture of an elementary school wrestler and a gymnast, says its drink can help a child "develop fully as a high-performance athlete" and fill nutritional gaps "in a sport that is physically and mentally demanding."...
Despite the promotional materials, Sidney Stohs and Rick Loy, executives with AdvoCare International of Texas, which makes the products, said Spark was not devised or marketed for children's athletic performance but rather for their overall good health....
Many of AdvoCare's customers say they love the products, but pediatricians, medical experts and others involved in youth sports express strong concern about the levels of caffeine and the idea of encouraging children to use performance-enhancing products, especially at a time when professional athletes are under scrutiny for using stimulants and muscle builders....
Frank Uryasz, president of the National Center for Drug Free Sport and administrator of college drug testing programs, said young athletes should avoid caffeine and other stimulants.
"I am concerned that they are gateway substances," Uryasz said in a telephone interview. "I think it develops a mind-set especially among young athletes that they have to take something - a powder, a pill, a liquid - to improve their performance, when actually study after study shows that almost all of these products add no value to a young person's athletic performance."
Although many companies sell highly caffeinated drinks - Jolt and Red Bull are examples - for adults and children, Uryasz said AdvoCare concentrates on child and teenage athletes more than the other companies....
Angela B. Foster, whose 12-year-old daughter, Taylor, is featured in another endorsement for AdvoCare products, said in a telephone interview that Spark was safe and helpful for not only Taylor, who practices 20 hours a week and is hoping for a college scholarship in gymnastics, but also for her 11-year-old brother, who plays soccer and runs track, and her 7-year-old sister. "We use Spark for all of them," Foster said.
The Foster children use the teenage and adult version, with 120 milligrams of caffeine, even though it is labeled as not for use by children. "They don't use the kids' stuff," Foster said. "They said it tastes too much like Kool-Aid."
In her endorsement for AdvoCare's children's products, Taylor said: "I have more energy and I like them a lot. I would suggest that anyone try them!"...
Pharmaceutical drugs containing caffeine are required to have warnings saying, "Do not give to children under 12 years of age" and "Limit the use of caffeine-containing medications, foods or beverages while taking this product because too much caffeine may cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness and, occasionally, rapid heartbeat."
No such caffeine warnings are required of dietary supplements, which are considered foods, not drugs, under federal law....
AdvoCare has about 60 other products that it says help users with nutrition, energy, weight loss, muscle-building and skin care. It has 175 adult athlete endorsers, including Drew Brees of the San Diego Chargers and Steve McNair of the Tennessee Titans. Some of its products contain synephrine, a stimulant regarded as safe by the Food and Drug Administration but banned by the N.C.A.A. and the World Anti-Doping Agency, and creatine, a muscle builder banned by the N.C.A.A. Both chemicals are legal and marketed by many companies. Stohs said such products were not for children....
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