Boca Raton, FL, January 30, 2007 - Smart for Life™ Weight Management Centers warns parents against giving high-sugar energy drinks to children as these supercharged drinks are adding extra pounds to the continually growing obesity rate among children and adolescents in the United States.

Dr. Sasson Moulavi, Chief Medical Director of the Boca Raton based weight loss company explains, the number of overweight children coming to our centers continue to grow. When I review the child's current diet, I am finding an alarming trend - energy drinks. Not only are these drinks loaded with extra caffeine, which is not healthy for children, but also packed with empty calories.

With more than 500 different drinks on the market, the 3.4 billion dollar energy drink industry is willing and able to target young people with a barrage of marketing messages which includes using these drinks as a weight loss tool. This message can be misleading as just two cans can contain as much as 14 teaspoons of sugar.

In addition to gaining excess pounds, continual use of these drinks can lead to other health issues such as diabetes. Dr. Moulavi warns that parents, teachers and public officials should be aware of this growing, and very dangerous trend among our young people. Many current and future health related issues can be avoided if we teach our children to make healthy choices now, such as reaching for bottled water.

Smart for Life™ Weight Management Centers specialize in medically supervised weight loss programs and has 32 locations throughout the United States and Canada. The Smart for Life™ Weight Management program helps clients make positive changes in their lives by helping them reach and maintain their weight loss goals.