Myth or fact – does caffeine stunt your growth? It is hard to say because studies in the elderly have shown growth and bone loss, but in teenagers, there hasn’t been any much change. I personally do not drink coffee, but I know hundreds of people that do, so this topic is controversial. It is hard to believe that a boiled liquid produced from a small bean can stunt someone’s growth…but can it?

This myth has been passed down for several years now, but scientists believe it came about because people believed coffee lowered bone mass and caused other bone problems. In his 2014 caffeine article, Franco found that women in the middle 60s and 70s who daily drank caffeine showed a loss of bone growth (over a few years) compared to those who didn’t consume coffee. However, a study also experimented on a group of almost 100 teenagers for a period of six years. There was no change in their growth and no bone loss. Although, the study with the older women consisted of women with a lower calcium diet, so bone loss was inevitable (meaning caffeine most likely was not the cause of shorter growth).

The studies that have been conducted have not proved that caffeine stunts growth. There is not enough scientific evidence that is accurate enough to support this hypothesis. People have a misconception that caffeine causes a stunt in growth because it causes osteoporosis, which is a condition where the bones in the body become brittle and weak (usually due to a lack of calcium). However, caffeine is not a justification for osteoporosis, and even this medical condition does not make someone short. Another reason why this theory is a myth is because teenagers are often at their full height before they even start drinking caffeine on a daily basis. Typically young adults drink caffeine regularly, so they are already fully grown. Getting older can change one’s height, but drinking a cup of coffee will not stunt one’s height. Caffeine does aid in the removal of calcium from our bodies, but it will not stunt our growth.

The closest evidence scientists have to caffeine possibly stunting our growth is through different experiments in adults. There has not been enough studies performed on this theory, and the evidence that has been gathered is not precise. The more caffeine older people take in, the less calcium the body contains. The bottom line is if we consume an average amount of caffeine, there will be no detrimental impacts on the development and growth of our bones. This idea that caffeine stunts growth does not have valid scientific evidence to support the theory. It is purely a myth that has been around for so long that now people believe it.

Sources:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/coffee-stunt-growth.htm

http://www.planforyourhealth.com/living-healthy/harvard-medical-school-commentaries/medical-myths/commentaryc/Commentary/commentarya/single/show-commentary/can-coffee-really-stunt-your-growth/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/its-a-myth-theres-no-evidence-that-coffee-stunts-kids-growth-180948068/?no-ist

I have been playing soccer for thirteen years and it has always been my favorite sport/hobby to perform in my free time. As a young kid, it was fun to play a game that involved kicking a ball up and down a huge green field. As I started becoming involved in clubs and intense tournaments, I noticed everyone was constantly heading the ball when it came towards them in the air. I noticed more people were using their heads to control the ball rather than their feet or other body parts. Due to this, I have seen and have experienced several soccer injuries, including concussions.

Heading the soccer ball has become more and more common over the past several years. In fact, heading a soccer ball has become an ordinary activity (whether that be during practice or games). According to Dr. Tom Schweizer from St. Michael’s Hospital, roughly 9% of injuries that occur during soccer are due to concussions. Some of these soccer injuries are caused by physical contact with another player on the field, but more of them are produced by intentionally heading the ball to control and keep possession.

A study disclosed that about 63% of soccer plays (varsity) had concussion signs and symptoms, but only 19% actually knew they had a concussion. Another study found that roughly 82% of soccer athletes who had previously experienced a concussion suffered multiple more in later games. This same study also discovered that 8.2% of concussions occurred in girls soccer, resulting in the second-most frequent sport to have concussions (after football). There are serious consequences of these head injuries such as severe headaches and dizziness. However, the long-term consequences is the scariest part. Individuals suffer loss in memory, concentration, response, and clear thinking. After concussions, x-rays of the brain have shown unusual changes in the shape of brain cells. Due to this, the victim’s cognitive and psychological thinking are altered.

    Normal Brain vs. After Concussion

Down below is a link to a graph showing how the amount of concussions in soccer (especially girls soccer) is increasingly growing at a fast rate. It is steadily startig to rise to football head injuries. From these studies and knowledge that soccer is becoming the fastest growing sport in the nation (265 million), everyone should more cautious when it comes to concussions and if there are any signs of a head injury, one should get it looked at immediately.

Concussions per 10,000 competition exposures

Sources:

http://consumer.healthday.com/cognitive-health-information-26/brain-health-news-80/heading-soccer-ball-can-damage-brain-study-says-684615.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140210114538.htm

http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20131120/concussions-damage-to-brain-lingers-after-symptoms-fade-study

Hello everyone! My name is Lauren Freid and I am a freshmen enrolled in The College of Communications. I signed up for SC200 because it is a course that people take who are not majoring in the science field. It is a course that does not require background knowledge, and some people who take the course actually hate science. However, I like certain types of sciences such as biology and astronomy. Science has never been a very strong subject of mine, which is why I also decided to take this course. When i was signing up for classes at Penn State during orientation, my advisors told me that SC200 is a fun class that will get you thinking on a totally different level. This ultimately pushed me to sign up for this class and see what it was about. I am not planning to be a science major because I am interested in pursuing a career in journalism and communications. I have always loved journalism since I was a little girl, so I find it only fitting to pursue something that I have a deep passion for. I am not sure what branch of communications I want to participate in, but I am leaning towards broadcast journalism. I am looking forward to this class, especially to find out if fish feel pain.

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