Currently sports drinks contain too much sugar to allow manufacturers to make health claims. The proposal to change the regulation has health groups worried that the high calorie content of the drinks could be glossed over as a result.
Melbourne mum Megan Barth has four children, who all play different sports but she says sports drinks are off limits in her household.
"I don't [think] they need any sugary drinks", she said.
"I don't think they need to have a sports drink that's full of sugar. As long as they have water regularly that's enough."
Proposed changes to regulatory standards could allow sports drinks to market their health benefits, such as allowing athletes to achieve performance goals.
Ms Barth says while the advertising might be aimed at adults, it will appeal to kids.
"I think if they saw it on telly and said it would make them better sports people for sure they would.
"My son always says he wants to play footy when he grows and if he thinks all he has to do is drink some sports drink, he'll want it."
Health groups say that's the major problem. Jane Martin from the Obesity Policy Coalition says it's not just elite sportspeople who buy the drinks.
"They're heavily marketed particularly during sport and very popular sports as well and the implication is that people need these kind of products, when in fact people are consuming too much sugar," she said.
Food Standards Australian New Zealand says manufacturers would only be allowed to make scientifically substantiated health claims, but there's concern that will create the impression that sports drinks are beneficial for everyone, and Ms Martin says that's not the case.
"Very, very few select people these drinks are ok for, the vast majority of people don't require them, the dietary guidelines recommend that people drinks less of them because they add sugar to the diet that people don't need."
An average sized sports drink contains about eight teaspoons of sugar, that's about the same as a can of soft drink.
New guidelines proposed by the World Health Organisation has the recommended daily intake of sugar for an adult be limited to six teaspoons.
But the Australian Beverage Council says the nutrient levels on the drinks are well researched.
The group's Geoff Parker says the sugar is an essential component to hydration.
"That baseload sugar assists with hydration and energy benefits," he said.
"Once that baseload sugar drops away the hydration benefits also drop away, so the science says these sorts of drinks need that baseload of sugar to deliver those functional benfits."
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