May 08, 2014 10:51 AM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Teenagers who drink sports or energy drinks on the regular are more likely to consumer other sugary drinks, smoke cigarettes and spend more time in front of a computer or television, according to a recent study the Huffington Post reported.

Sports and energy drinks are a popular choice for teenagers, and are high in sugar and can be high in caffeine.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Duke University in North Carolina found that while the consumption of sports drinks was linked to "higher levels of sports participation and physical activity, " the consumption of sports and energy drinks  appeared to be associated with "a clustering of unhealthy behaviors" among some teenagers, Irishhealth.com reported.

For the study, scientists surveyed nearly 2,800 teens during the 2009-2010 school year. The average age of participants was 14.

They found that more than a third of the students surveyed consumed ports drinks and more than 15 percent consumed energy drinks at least once a week. Both girls and boys were more likely "to smoke and consume more sugar-sweetened beverages if they were regular energy or sports drink consumers, the Huffington Post reported.

"Among boys, weekly sports drink consumption was significantly associated with higher TV viewing; boys who regularly consumed sports drinks spent about one additional hour per week watching TV compared with boys who consumed sports drinks less than once per week," Nicole Larson, lead author of the study, said in a statement. And "boys who consumed energy drinks at least weekly spent approximately four additional hours per week playing video games compared to those who consumed energy drinks less than once per week."

Researchers said that interventions are needed to target these unhealthy behaviors in teenagers and to highlight the importance of consuming healthy drinks.

The findings were recently published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 

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