Key takeaways:
Old advertisements used to claim that drinking coffee stunted the growth of children.
Research has linked caffeine with affecting calcium absorption, which can be offset by drinking small amounts of milk.
Although coffee doesn’t stunt growth, caffeine consumption should be limited during childhood.
If you’re like the majority of adults in the United States, you love your coffee in the mornings. What may come as a surprise is that coffee is also popular among teenagers, coming in second to energy drinks as the caffeinated beverage of choice.
If you’ve heard that coffee can stunt growth, this may raise concern, since growth spurts and development are crucial during adolescence. So the question remains: Can coffee negatively affect a growing child?
Where did the idea come from?
When it was an up-and-coming beverage, coffee had a bad reputation. Since it’s a stimulant, many world leaders dating back to the 1500s banned people from drinking it due to potential negative health outcomes.
The concerns were believed to stem from a man named C.W. Post, the creator of Post cereals. Along with popular cereals, Post created a grain-based drink called Postum that was advertised as a caffeine-free alternative drink. Some of the company’s marketing techniques were to focus on how Postum was kid friendly and included attacks on coffee. It claimed that coffee made kids tired and irritable, caused failing grades, and hindered their growth and development.
The popularity of Post cereal and Postum likely made individuals believe the advertisements and pass on the message that coffee stunts growth.
Claim: Drinking coffee will stunt your growth
The belief is that the caffeine in coffee causes the body to absorb less calcium, which is an important mineral for bone growth.
What does the science say?
The correlation between caffeine and bone loss is controversial. Older research claimed that consuming caffeine may:
Decrease bone mineral density (BMD)
Increase the risk of hip fractures
Affect calcium absorption and retention
Calcium is an important mineral when it comes to bone health, with 98% of the body’s calcium stored in the bones. According to the National Institute of Health, our bones remodel throughout our entire lives, meaning they break down and form new bone. This process requires constant intake and deposits of calcium to help with bone growth and repair.
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While there may be a small link between caffeine and calcium absorption, some research claims that you can offset this effect simply by consuming 1 to 2 tbsp of milk.
What do the experts say?
The lack of scientific evidence that links coffee to growth stunting leads experts to believe that there is not a relationship between the two.
“There is no concrete evidence to support the fact that coffee stunts growth in adolescents,” says Chaye McIntosh, clinical director at ChoicePoint Health. “Frequent use of coffee is discouraged, since too much caffeine in the system may cause anxiety and increased heart rate, but no studies show that it has adverse effects on height.”
Even though coffee does not impact growth, the American Academy of Pediatrics still says that kids under the age of 12 should not be consuming caffeine and that 12 to 18 year olds should limit caffeine to 100 mg per day. Canada also has set recommended daily caffeine intake levels for kids. They are:
Ages 4 to 6 years old: 45 mg per day
Ages 7 to 9 years old: 62.5 mg per day
Ages 10 to 12 years old: 85 mg per day
Adolescents (ages 12 to 18): 85 to 100 mg per day
For reference, 1 cup (about 8 oz) of regularly brewed coffee contains about 92 mg of caffeine. Espresso, which is found in many popular drinks, such as lattes, macchiatos, and cappuccinos, contains about 63 mg of caffeine per 1-oz serving (which is usually about 1 shot of espresso).
Is coffee safe for kids?
The stimulant effect of coffee can impact children more than adults due to their smaller size. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that children who consume caffeine long term may experience unwanted side effects, including:
Poor sleep
Irritability and mood problems
Increased stress hormone levels
Withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, problems concentrating, and tiredness (after caffeine intake stops)
Potential substance use problems
Plus, many of the popular specialty coffee drinks can contain high amounts of sugar, which can negatively affect health.
What can affect your growth?
There are several factors that can stunt growth, most of which you can avoid. They include:
Genetics
Socioeconomic factors
Nutrition
Environmental factors
Not eating enough food or enough healthy foods can lead to malnutrition, which is a key factor for growth in adolescents. Certain deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, such as zinc, selenium, and iodine, can cause growth and developmental delays.
The same article states that the majority of an individual's growth occurs in both infancy and adolescence. During puberty, males should be growing around 10 to 12 cm per year, and females should grow 8 to 10 cm per year. Anything under 4 cm per year is worth discussing with a healthcare provider.
So should children avoid coffee?
Children should not regularly consume coffee, but not because it will stunt their growth. Rather, drinking coffee could negatively impact their sleep, nervous system, or even cardiovascular system.
References
Balasundaram P, Avulakunta ID. (2021). Human growth and development.
Danika Martyn, et al. (2018). Temporal patterns of caffeine intake in the United States. Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Government of Canada. (2012). Caffeine in food.
Heaney R. P. (2002). Effects of caffeine on bone and the calcium economy. Food and chemical toxicology: an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.
National Institutes of Health. (2021). Calcium.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2020). Caffeine and children.
Tsuang, Y. H., et al. (2006). Direct effects of caffeine on osteoblastic cells metabolism: the possible causal effect of caffeine on the formation of osteoporosis. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.
USDA. (2019). FoodData Central.
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