Drinks lift for sports teams

Consuming energy drinks during team sports could help young people perform better, a study suggests. Sports scientists found that 12-14 year olds can play for longer in team games when they drink an isotonic sports drink before and during games. Researchers at the University measured the performance of 15 adolescents during exercise designed to simulate the physical demands of team games such as football, rugby and hockey. Assessing impact. They showed for the first time that sports drinks helped the young people continue high intensity, stop-start activity for up to 24 per cent longer - compared with players who drank a non-carbohydrate placebo solution. The study was conducted because there is increasing evidence of young people consuming commercially available energy drinks during team games and researchers wanted to assess their impact. The findings are published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.