Medical professionals are warning that the increased use of energy drinks and powdered stimulants marketed around video games is having a detrimental effect on young people, DailyMail.com reports.
Children "might not understand the risks and benefits of these types of things," said Dr. Atul Malhotra, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
He added that like nicotine vapes, energy drinks and supplements are marketed with eye-catching colors and offer a wide variety of sweet and fruity flavors while also containing addictive substances.
Dr. Cecelia Melendres, assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in pediatric sleep medicine, noted that the increasing use of video game supplements "definitely is a major factor" in a widespread lack of sleep among children and teenagers under the age of 18.
"These drinks may give you a boost, but that boost is very temporary and it can have other effects on your health, especially with sleep," Melendres said.
"If you don't get enough sleep then it also affects your cognitive ability. Eventually it comes back that these drinks will lead to worse performance," she added.