The American Medical Association may throw its clout behind sales and advertising bans of “high-energy/stimulant drinks” to young people under age 18, pending more scientific study about health risks. 
 
 A debate schedule for this weekend by the AMA’s policy-making House of Delegates comes amid intensifying scrutiny of energy drinks, which are popular particularly among young adults who get a boost from caffeine and other ingredients in the beverages. 
 
 But a resolution from the New York State Medical Society that will be discussed at this year’s annual AMA meeting in Chicago cites an increase in emergency room visits the physicians said was “linked to the consumption of ‘stimulant’ drinks.” Doctors have also cited probes like that of the New York State Attorney General’s investigation into drink makers that include Monster Beverage Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) and PepsiCo PepsiCo Inc. (PEP). 
 
 Though any action this weekend by the AMA’s policy-making House of Delegates has no legal authority over the sale of high-energy drinks, the national doctor’s group has a bully pulpit on public health issues. The AMA is also considered a powerful lobby in Washington and in state capitols across the county where it holds sway when it comes to medical policy and health regulations. 
 
 “The popularity of stimulant drinks has increased markedly in recent years with sales increasing 240 percent from 2004-2009, with further data indicating that these drinks are consumed by 30 to 50 percent of children, adolescents, and young adults,” the New York delegation to the AMA House of delegates said in its resolution. “Studies have shown that high ‘stimulant’ drinks contain excessive amounts of caffeine with one can having the equivalent of up to 50 cups of coffee. Excessive caffeine can cause adverse effects such as dizziness, insomnia, agitation, restlessness, anxiety, GI disturbances, myocardial infarction and death.” 
 
 Any push by the AMA could meet resistance from drink makers. 
 
 Monster, for example, earlier this year has fought back against curbs on sales of its drinks such as a suit it filed against the San Francisco City Attorney this spring. Monster has also said labeling on its drinks caution that the beverages are “not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine,” according to an April report in the Wall Street Journal linked here. 
 
 The resolution regarding energy drinks is among dozens that will be debated at the AMA’s 524-member House of Delegates, which convenes Saturday to Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. 
 
 Aside from endorsing a ban on such drinks, AMA delegates are also pushing for more scientific study of energy drinks. 
 
 On June 18, the AMA’s policy-making House of Delegates adopted policy supporting a ban on the marketing, but not on the sale of “high stimulant/caffeine drinks to adolescents under the age of 18. Here’s a link to AMA statement on the new policy. 
 
 Said AMA board member Dr. Alexander Ding, “Energy drinks contain massive and excessive amounts of caffeine that may lead to a host of health problems in young people, including heart problems, and banning companies from marketing these products to adolescents is a common sense action that we can take to protect the health of American kids.” 

 Doctors To Vote On Whether Cheerleading Is A Sport 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Charlie Neibergall/AP Charlie Neibergall/AP 
 
 This weekend the American Medical Association will kick off its annual exercise in medical democracy. 
 
 The group's House of Delegates will meet in Chicago to vote on resolutions that range from a demand that private insurers pay doctors at least as much as Medicare does to a call for federal legislation affirming the right of doctors to talk about gun safety with patients. 
 
 Oh, and one other thing, the Illinois delegation is putting forward a resolution asking the AMA to "support the designation of cheerleading as a sport." 
 
 Yep, you read that right. And the health logic is pretty straightforward, actually. 
 
 Cheerleading has become a competitive activity in its own right, and there's a considerable risk of serious injury, including concussion, spinal damage and broken bones. 
 
 What Should The AMA Do? Should cheerleading be considered a sport? 
 
 So it ought to get the same attention to health consequences as other sports, including the training of coaches to minimize injury risks for cheerleaders, proponents say. 
 
 A 2011 report from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research found that "high school and college cheerleaders account for approximately two-thirds of the catastrophic injuries to female athletes." 
 
 The NCAA hasn't recognized cheerleading as a competitive sport. Last August, a federal appeals court ruled that Quinnipiac College in Connecticut couldn't count cheerleading as a sport under Title IX as way to offset disbanding women's volleyball. 
 
 If the AMA delegates go along with the proposal, they'll be following in the footsteps of the pediatricians. Last October, The American Academy of Pediatrics called for more attention to cheerleading injuries and giving the go-ahead to the sports label.
– There are teams, uniforms, competitions, physical exertion, and plenty of injuries. But is cheerleading a sport? The NCAA says no. The American Academy of Pediatrics says yes. And now the American Medical Association will decide for itself, with a vote at its annual House of Delegates meeting this weekend, NPR reports. The decision is more than just semantics: Classifying cheering as a sport would mean more training for coaches in how to reduce and prevent injuries. That would probably be a good move, given the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research says "high school and college cheerleaders account for approximately two-thirds of the catastrophic injuries to female athletes," according to NPR. Also on the AMA's meeting schedule: A debate on whether to back a ban on selling energy drinks to people under the age of 18, which physicians from the New York State Medical Society say are linked to an increasing number of ER visits, Forbes reports. The AMA can't actually regulate drink sales, notes Forbes, but it's a powerful lobby and its backing could add some serious heft to the proposed ban.