Survey of Caffeine Intake from Children's Favorite Foods

ABSTRACT

The daily caffeine intake from elementary school children's favorite foods was surveyed and evaluated. Children may respond to caffeine differently from adults because they have different physiological makeup and are functionally immature. Therefore, caffeine exposure may have more serious consequences for children than for adults, irrespective of sensitivity. Their preference, perception, and intake of caffeine from children's favorite foods were investigated by questionnaire for 355 children. The order of children's preference over foods containing caffeine was ice cream and ices, confectionary, milk and milk products, and soft beverage. The daily caffeine intake of children was estimated to range from 0.16 to 917.28 mg/day, with an average of 36.04 +/- 82.7 mg/day and 36.9 +/- 96.0 mg/day for boys and girls, respectively. The daily caffeine intake according to body weight was 1.08 +/- 2.23 mg/kg and 1.12 +/- 2.66 mg/kg for boys and girls, respectively. The percentage of acceptable daily intake (ADI) of caffeine was 43.4% for boys and 44.9% for girls. The sources of caffeine for boys and girls were soft beverage (18.3 mg and 16.1 mg), milk and milk products (8.9 mg and 8.5 mg), ice cream and ices (5.7 mg and 7.3 mg), chocolate (1.6 mg and 3.2 mg), and confectionery (1.6 mg and 1.8 mg).