Girls in Bradford 'skipping breakfast too often'

Teenagers in Bradford are drinking too many energy drinks and skipping breakfast too often, according to experts studying youth health in the city.

The Born in Bradford Age of Wonder research project found that 36% of children aged 12-15 drank an energy drink weekly, while 29% of girls ate breakfast once a week or not at all.

The study tracks 13,000 teenagers over seven years - the majority of the city's secondary school population.

Dr David Ryan said that social pressure and posts by online influencers were encouraging the consumption of high-sugar drinks, which could have serious long-term health consequences.

The levels of girls avoiding breakfast has been linked to their concerns about weight and body image.

In total, the research found only 39% of teenagers were eating a morning meal daily, but girls were 13% more likely than boys to skip breakfast.

Speaking about the popularity of branded energy drinks, Ryan said: "There have been people who are quite prominent on social media and people with huge followings who have either actively endorsed energy drinks or have launched their own brands.

"That has led to this kind of social phenomenon whereby the popularity of the drinks is almost out of the ordinary.

"Prime is probably the biggest example, where at its peak, you're seeing people buy these drinks for, you know, three, four, five times the price of a bottle of Fanta or Coke or even water."

Prime Hydration is a drink promoted by influencers KSI and Logan Paul who have more than 40 million YouTube followers between them.

When it was first stocked as a one-off special by Aldi three years ago, there were chaotic scenes in supermarkets as people rushed to get their hands on bottles.

Ryan said the high levels of "free sugars" – sugars that release energy quickly - and caffeine in energy drinks have a knock-on effect on health.

"If you have a really high-sugar diet, particularly free sugars, that is going to hugely increase your chances of being overweight or obese.

"That consequently, over the life course, has associations with not just physiological health issues, but also mental health issues, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, a whole host of measures, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attack. A litany of long-term potential impacts," he said.

The government is planning a new law in England to stop anyone under the age of 16 buying energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster and Prime from shops, restaurants, cafes, vending machines and online following pressure from concerned parents.

Speaking about Bradford teenagers' attitudes to breakfast, Ryan said: "Female students might be more likely to report avoiding breakfast as a strategy to kind of manage weight or to keep to a lower caloric intake as a means to try and kind of keep their weight at the level they want.

"What the research actually pulls out is that skipping breakfast is associated with increased weight. So often people who skip breakfast end up having a higher BMI than those who don't.

"If you skip breakfast and then you're really hungry, you're more likely to make impulsive choices, grab something quick at a counter, something that's eye-catching, which often can be the kind of less favourable food and drink options."

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