1st Place, Bylined Opinion Article
2021-22, Division 3, News Writing
By Kirsten Kenton & Vladyslav Vlasylyk
Update
H.H. Dow HS
Exam week. First week back from winter break. Monday mornings. What do all of these things have in common? Usually exhaustion. And although many prefer getting a cup of coffee in the drive-thru on their way to school, others might settle for something else: energy drinks.
Although the taste may be sweet, the effects on health can be bitter. These tasty beverages are raising concerns among a minority, as people begin to ponder, do these highly caffeinated drinks such as Kickstart really help and should they be sold at school?
Derived from the little amount of information told about these drinks, schools should not be selling energy drinks as a form of refreshment. Instead they should be selling normal pop unlike the sugar-free pop they sell currently. However these energy drinks are taking a rise every year. According to the website Caffeine Informer, these refreshments have been rising five percent with each year.
Junior Chloe Marsh believes that schools should be allowed to sell energy drinks that are assessible to students in any learning environment.
“Sometimes, I get tired and I have to make it through a whole seven hour school day, so I need energy,” Marsh said.
Another student, sophomore Brayden Russ, agreed with the idea that although they aren’t good for people, they still should be sold at school.
“I mean, they’re not really the best for you, but yes, they should [sell energy drinks],” Russ said. “100 percent.”
But what is that thing in the energy drinks that makes them “not the best”? Generally, the main ingredient of the “charging” beverages is caffeine, in varying amounts depending on the flavor and brand.
“An energy drink contains 80 to 500 milligrams of caffeine,” urgent care doctor and Michigan State Medical Society member Dr. Kirk Bortel said. “80 is okay, it’s like a cup of coffee, but 500? That’s a lot. Some of the [energy drinks] also contain vitamins that can be toxic when used in excess. Most people don’t know about that.”
While these beverages do give energy that many students may want throughout the day, they can be detrimental to teenagers’ health when consumed frequently. Since the boosting effects don’t last very long, this can lead to the excess use of the stimulants.
“For me, if you drink one, the energy lasts probably for two hours or so,” Russ said.
When consumed more than needed, the caffeine starts leading to various consequences and effects. The negative outcome may be as little as emotional fatigue, or as serious as more threatening implications, such as interrupted sleep cycle.
“High caffeine consumption may lead to increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and sleep issues,” Bortel said, “You don’t sleep well the next night, so you will take another energy drink the following day, and then again you don’t sleep well. It can be a perpetual issue.”
Even though the “caffeine tolerance” and amount that needs to be consumed for side effects to start displaying depends on an individual, it is generally believed that three or more energy drinks a day will leave these symptoms.
While the aforementioned side effects can be very harmful to a teenager’s body, those are not all of the outcomes that these refreshments can have.
“Would energy drinks make you shorter?” Bortel said. “Of course, not. But they definitely could affect your growth, meaning physical and mental growth.”
On the whole, it can be stated that energy drinks are not a direct hazard to teenagers’
health unless they are consumed uncontrollably. Nonetheless, switching to healthier, lower caffeine alternatives should be considered as a better approach to the issue. Additionally, if energy drinks are not sold at school, students are less likely to consume them during the school day, as they won’t have such direct access to the stimulating beverages.
Energy drinks can be very harmful to people’s body depending merely on how much is digested. Energy drinks should be allowed to be sold at school, only if students can know how much they should be drinking on a daily basis.
The general advice that can be given is to keep track of the amount of caffeine consumed throughout the day, focus on getting enough rest at night and maintaining a stable sleep cycle.
Usually if a person keeps tabs on these things and watches their intake levels, one energy drink won’t hurt. However, it is very important to ensure that a bottle with a thunderbolt printed on the label does not replace the water bottle.
NW-07. Bylined Opinion Article
Article of personal opinion carrying the byline of the writer(s) presented in a style consistent with modern opinion column standards. The article should comment on a news or feature subject of interest (including sports) and/or concern to the readers, or may express dissent from the majority opinion expressed in editorials.
Judging Criteria
- Topic relevant to interests and/or welfare of school or students
- Wins reader interest with a compelling lead that urges action
- Presents evidence/interpretation in logical sequence
- States issue; uses effective examples, facts and comparisons to clarify
- Deals with specific issue; avoids preaching, rhetoric and cliches
- Shows sufficient thought and knowledge of subject, developed with personal style
- Proposes solution where appropriate
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar