Studies show that 75% of adults drink coffee and about 73% of children drink caffeine daily. It's a common belief that coffee can stunt growth because of its caffeine content, but many people wonder if this is true.
This article addresses a commonly asked question by healthcare professionals and patients: can coffee really stunt growth? The answer is often surprising!
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Understanding Growth
Understanding growth and development is vital to learning how coffee and caffeine affect these two vital life processes.
The Science of Growth
The phases of growth include infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Factors that influence growth are genetics, nutrition, hormones, and environmental factors. While children don’t grow taller than they're genetically predisposed to, outside factors could potentially stunt their growth — sometimes permanently.
Role of Nutrition in Growth
Nutrition plays a vital role in children's growth and development. Essential nutrients that maximize growth include fluids, protein, carbohydrates, dietary fat, vitamins, and minerals. Nutrient deficiencies, medications, drugs, and potentially caffeine (indirectly) could affect growth. Children must also consume enough calories to support growth and development.
Coffee Composition and Its Effects
Coffee contains specific ingredients that may affect the health of children, teenagers, and adults.
Components of Coffee
Coffee contains caffeine and antioxidants, though decaffeinated coffee is an option. Studies report that chemical components found in coffee include phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and others. Coffee also contains small amounts of micronutrients, such as calcium, folate, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. It also helps individuals meet daily fluid needs.
Physiological Effects of Caffeine
Caffeine is one of the most commonly used substances. It’s been blamed for contributing to stunted growth. Sources of caffeine include coffee beans, tea, kola nuts, and cacao beans.
Caffeine affects the body in various ways. Its primary mechanism of action is linked to its effects on adenosine receptors in the brain. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and purine alkaloid. It easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and is rapidly absorbed by the small intestine. Caffeine offers potential benefits (improved focus) and drawbacks (negative effects on nutrition, mental health, and sleep) — particularly among children and teenagers.
The Myth: Can Coffee Stunt Your Growth?
The myth of coffee’s ability to stunt growth in children is widespread.
Origins of the Myth
The media has portrayed coffee as a means of stunting growth in children, but research doesn’t necessarily back these claims. The myth that coffee can stunt growth is an old wives’ tale, according to some medical professionals. It’s often considered a myth because scientific studies don’t support specific evidence that coffee or caffeine directly stunts growth.
However, drinking lots of caffeinated coffee could indirectly affect children’s growth and development.
Scientific Evidence
A review found that caffeine affects children positively and negatively — it may hinder growth and development indirectly by altering the sleep cycle (causing poor sleep quality) or contributing to nutrient deficiencies.
More specifically, a high caffeine intake can interfere with calcium absorption, which could stunt growth in growing children consuming less than 300 milligrams of calcium per day. Children who drink coffee instead of milk or other calcium-rich foods may also be at risk of a calcium deficiency.
Furthermore, researchers suggest that caffeine could increase the risk of anxiety and depression in children.
However, the positive effects of caffeine on children (based on the same research study) include increased motor activity, short-term arousal, perception, intelligence, and physical performance.
A study examining the effects of maternal caffeine consumption found that consuming moderate amounts of caffeine during pregnancy may lead to a smaller birth size. Another study showed that children born to women who consumed high amounts of caffeine were shorter than kids of moms with lower caffeine intakes. The researchers state that current caffeine guidelines for pregnant women are less than 200 milligrams (less than 2 cups of caffeinated coffee) per day.
Many people in the medical community, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, discourage children from drinking caffeine not because it stunts their growth, but because it might hinder their nutritional or sleep habits — which both play roles in maximizing growth and development.
Coffee Consumption in Children and Adolescents
It’s common knowledge that consuming large amounts of caffeine may harm overall health and well-being.
Caffeine Intake Recommendations
The following caffeine intake guidelines exist for children and teenagers:
- The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine intake by children and teenagers.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not established a safe level of caffeine for kids.
- The American Academy of Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry suggests there are no proven safe dosages for caffeine in children under 12, and recommends limiting caffeine to 100 milligrams daily for kids and teenagers ages 12-18.
- Canadian guidelines suggest limiting caffeine to 45-100 milligrams daily (based on age).
Most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 milligrams (equal to about 10 cans of cola, 4 cups of brewed coffee, or two energy drinks) of caffeine daily without worrisome side effects. Some practitioners say it's safe for pregnant women, women trying to become pregnant, and nursing women to consume up to 200 milligrams of caffeine per day.
Potential Risks and Benefits
Drinking caffeinated coffee may provide potential risks and benefits. For example, caffeine (in moderation) typically offers the following beneficial effects:
- Less drowsiness
- Reduced fatigue
- Improved athletic performance
- More energy
- Excretion of excess salt in the urine
- Lower risk of chronic diseases
Researchers found that some of coffee’s health perks include lowering blood sugar and protecting the nerves and liver.
Studies also show that adults who drink coffee may have a lower risk of cancer, stroke, heart conditions, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, but more research is needed to know how coffee affects children and teenagers.
Individuals who drink caffeine may feel its effects for 4-6 hours, with those effects peaking within an hour after consumption.
The potential drawbacks of consuming high doses of caffeine include:
- Interference with calcium absorption
- Upset stomach or heartburn
- Increased blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fast heart rate
- Shakiness
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Dehydration
- Muscle tremors
- Dependency
Because high doses of caffeine may interfere with calcium absorption, it could increase the risk of calcium deficiency, which studies show may stunt growth in kids when calcium intake is below 300 milligrams per day.
Many adults can safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine daily without troublesome side effects. However, because caffeine can cause dependency, individuals may gradually increase their caffeine doses over time.
Withdrawal symptoms that might appear after stopping caffeine consumption include:
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Trouble concentrating
However, these symptoms often subside after several days.
The FDA estimates that seizures or other toxic effects may appear after rapidly consuming 0.15 tablespoons of pure caffeine or 1,200 milligrams of caffeine.
Practical Advice for Healthcare Professionals and Patients
Health advice regarding drinking coffee is as follows:
For Healthcare Professionals
Most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine in coffee (about 4 cups of coffee) without negative effects. In fact, drinking coffee provides numerous potential health benefits. However, the following population groups should limit or avoid caffeine:
- Pregnant and nursing women
- Women trying to become pregnant
- Individuals with sleep disorders, particularly insomnia
- People with anxiety, migraines, or chronic headaches
- Individuals with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or ulcers
- People with high blood pressure or heartbeat irregularities
- Individuals taking the following medication or supplements: some antibiotics, stimulants, heart medicine, and asthma medications
- Children and teenagers
Children and teenagers should consume much less caffeine than adults or none at all because they may be particularly sensitive to its effects.
It might be okay for otherwise healthy teenagers to consume up to 100 milligrams of caffeine daily, equivalent to about 1 cup of coffee.
While there’s no proof that coffee stunts growth in children, caffeine may indirectly affect growth by hindering sleep and nutrition, and caffeine intake during pregnancy could contribute to lower birth weights.
However, consuming decaffeinated coffee appears to be safe for children and teenagers as long as they don’t replace nutrient-dense drinks like calcium-rich milk or plant milk with coffee.
For Patients and Parents
Parents and their children should make informed decisions about coffee consumption based on research studies and guidelines. Less caffeine is better, and children aged 12 and under should avoid caffeine altogether, according to many current guidelines.
Parents can speak with their child’s pediatrician to determine which amount of caffeine, if any, is safe for their teenagers — which may be up to 100 milligrams daily.
It’s also vital for children to drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, minimize stress, eat a well-balanced diet, and take a multivitamin supplement or other supplements under the direction of a pediatrician to optimize growth and development.
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Key Takeaways
- While scientific findings don’t confirm the myth that coffee stunts growth, most children should avoid caffeine altogether and teenagers should limit caffeine intake to 100 milligrams daily as instructed by their doctor.
- Most healthy adults can often safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine daily without adverse health effects.
- Pregnant women, women trying to become pregnant, and nursing women should limit or avoid caffeine.
- Decaffeinated coffee is an option for individuals who must limit or avoid caffeine.
- Coffee offers an array of potential health benefits, including energy, improved mental focus, better athletic performance, and a lower risk of some chronic diseases.
- While coffee doesn’t appear to stunt growth directly, it can negatively affect sleep and nutrition quality in children and teenagers. This could indirectly affect growth and development. More research is needed.
- Most adults and some teenagers (in moderation) can safely combine caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee with a well-balanced meal plan, exercise, and other healthy habits.
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