Sport product claims "worrying" - experts
Thursday July 19th, 2012
Claims about many sports products, including drinks and clothing, are "strikingly" lacking in evidence, experts claimed today.
Researchers
studied the claims made for dozens of products including protein shakes
and trainers.
With the Olympics due to begin in London - backed by a blaze of sponsorship - experts said the absence of evidence was "worrying".
Only 2.7 per cent of studies provided to the team were found to be of "high quality" - and some companies refused to produce evidence.
The researchers found some 431 claims of performance-enhancing properties involving some 104 products.
Details are to be reported tonight on BBC Panorama and in the journal BMJ Open.
Experts were also critical of regulators for approving claims.
Often products designed for elite athletes are sold to the public on the basis that they will have the same needs for fluid and protein as top competitors, they warn.
One nutritionist Professor Mike Lean described them as "a rather expensive way of getting a bit of milk."
Dr Matthew Thompson, Senior Clinical Scientist at Oxford University’s Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, said the research into the products was "very meagre".
The researchers conclude: "For now, the evidence we do have seems to be leading us to a rather common sense and affordable solution. Eat a well balanced diet, drink water, find some comfy shoes, and get out there and exercise regularly.”
BMJ Open doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001702
Printer friendly page