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Sports supplements and the associated risks

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Russell Langley 07 September 2006

On the day that it released the results from the first quarter of the 2006/07 national anti-doping programme, UK Sport has published a new supplements resource, entitled ‘Sports Supplements and the Associated Risks’, designed to help athletes and support staff minimise the risk of using a product that contains a prohibited substance.

The supplements issue came to light in 1999 when a spate of nandrolone findings was linked to the problem of contaminated products. Research conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2003 then confirmed the scale of the problem, finding that 15% of 634 supplements it tested contained levels of prohibited substances high enough for an athlete to fail a drugs test. None of these substances were listed on the product labels.

As a result, UK Sport, amongst other sporting authorities including the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has advised athletes not to take supplements. Despite this, a survey of high performance athletes conducted by UK Sport in 2005 found that 60% of the 528 respondents said they used supplements. Therefore, as John Scott, UK Sport’s Director of Drug-Free Sport explained, more practical guidance for athletes is now required:

“The long-standing advice to athletes has been that the only way to avoid the risks associated with nutritional supplements is to not take them at all. However, we realise that many athletes still turn to nutritional supplements as part of their aim to legitimately maintain their performance and their health. For this reason we have produced the resource ‘Sports Supplements and the Associated Risks’ to help the sporting community better understand the risks and to assist athletes in making informed choices about the way they choose to sustain their lifestyle as elite performers.

“Progress is being made within the supplements industry, however the risk of failing a drugs test through a contaminated substance remains. By following the advice given by UK Sport athletes can better weigh up this risk versus the benefits of using such products, and ultimately be more prudent about their dietary choices. While no guarantee can be given, the aim is to manage the risk and minimise the threat of committing a doping offence through taking a contaminated supplement.

“Athletes must continue to remember that they remain fully responsible for any prohibited substance found in their system following a personal decision to use supplements.”

‘Sports Supplements and the Associated Risks’ was written by a group of experts who concluded that whilst a healthy, balanced diet remains the best way to achieve sufficient levels of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, some supplements do have a place in high performance sport for some athletes.

Professor Ron Maughan of Loughborough University is one of the leading experts in this field who has contributed to the Guide. He said: “All athletes should know that they must complement their training with a well-balanced diet. If we can combine this information with the ongoing efforts of UK Sport with regard to supplements, then I believe that athletes in the UK will be well-equipped to make informed choices about supplements.”

Meanwhile, the results from the national testing programme announced today by UK Sport show that 1,217 samples were collected between April and June 2006 across 36 sports. Sports receiving most tests during this period were football (212), athletics (167), swimming (110) and cricket (103).

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