Sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and the like are the beverages of choice for many youths. Might consuming such sweetened and often highly caffeinated drinks affect their behavior? Seems the answer is “yes.”

The study involved 1,649 middle school students (average age, 12), who were asked about their daily consumption of any drink sweetened with sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or other caloric sweeteners. Most students drank two or more types of sweetened drinks a day, more often soda but including fruit drinks, sweetened coffee, flavored milk and sports drinks; about 15 percent of the students drank energy drinks daily.

On a standardized scale rating traits of inattention and hyperactivity (being restless, fidgeting, having difficulty concentrating), 85 percent of the students ranked in the normal range.

As daily consumption of sweetened beverages increased, so did risk for inattentive and hyperactive behavior, rising 14 percent for each additional drink they had. Students who regularly consumed energy drinks were 66 percent more likely than those who didn’t drink them to be inattentive or hyperactive, regardless of how many other sweetened beverages they drank.