Lower-caffeine soft drinks, such Diet Coke, are not affected, and neither are tea and coffee.
A consultation will now run for 12 weeks to gather evidence from health and education experts as well as the public and retailers and manufacturers.
TV chef Jamie Oliver has repeatedly warned, external of the dangers and disruption energy drinks can cause, with kids coming into school “bouncing off the walls” having had energy drinks for breakfast.
“We are talking about three, four shots of espresso in one of these things. Loads of sugar. So an absolute nightmare,” he said in a video posted on X last year.
Excessive consumption is linked to headaches and sleep problems.
Too much caffeine can cause a rapid heart rate, abnormal heart rhythms and seizures too.
Although rare, there have been some deaths linked to excess caffeine.
Under current labelling rules, any drink, other than tea or coffee, with over 150mg of caffeine per litre requires a warning label saying: “High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.”
Young people have smaller bodies and their brains are still developing, which can make them more sensitive to caffeine, say experts.
For most adults, up to 400mg of caffeine a day, or about four cups of instant coffee or five cups of tea, is safe.