The CDC, AHA, and the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans all recommend that "Children and adolescents should do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day." Most of that activity should be aerobic exercise, with some muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening work thrown in too. But why be active every day? What are the benefits?

Athletes use sports drinks to provide energy, maintain hydration, and improve performance. At the same time, consumers reach for lower calorie, lower sugar sports drinks as tasty thirst-quenchers, even when those people are not physically active. Let’s take a closer look at sports drinks to see whether they’re good for simply quenching thirst.