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| Most nationally known nutritionists are critical of sports drinks because most contain sugar, half as much as soft drinks, and have little special benefit for casual athletes who work out less than two hours a day. (Flickr/medically_irrelevant) |
Coca-Cola's
Powerade is the official Olympic sports drink. The bottles are everywhere, even
in the hands of America's biggest stars, from Michael Phelps to Chris Paul.
Besides the
stars, another essential part to marketing in the $7-billion worldwide sports
drink game is science. In the industry, Gatorade, made by Pepsi, is the market
leader by far.
But just as
the Olympics games began in London a group of researchers at England's Oxford
University published a study of the marketing claims and the science behind
them in BMJ, the British medical journal.
"We
[found] that much of the science has not been well done," Dr. Matthew
Thompson, senior clinical scientist at Oxford, told ABC News. "[It] could
have easily been done much more rigorously so we'd actually know whether or not
these products work."
The Oxford
researchers, independent M.D.'s and clinical scientists, looked at more than
400 advertising claims for sports drinks and could not find scientific backing
for more than half of them. They characterized many of the rest as flawed
science.
"They've
used a lot of industry sponsored scientists to do the research, which makes us
suspicious," said Thompson. "There's nothing wrong with having a
scientific study funded by a company, and this happens all the time with
pharmaceuticals and many products. I think what's key is that the science that
is done is of high quality."
Most
nationally known nutritionists are critical of sports drinks because most
contain sugar, half as much as soft drinks, and have little special benefit for
casual athletes who work out less than two hours a day. The nutritionists also
say sports drinks should not be routinely given to children.
"The
sports drinks are grossly oversold," said Kelley Brownell, director of the
Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. "Kids all over
the place, teenagers are especially drinking these things like crazy when they
don't really need them."
The
American Beverage Association disputed the claims made by the study.
"Unfortunately,
this series of articles exhibits a clear bias by overlooking widely accepted
research on sports drinks. The body of available science supports the benefits
of sports drinks for carbohydrate energy and hydration, which are necessary for
an athlete's overall health, wellness and athletic performance," the
association said in a statement. "Our member companies' marketing makes it
clear that sports drinks are formulated for athletes and those who are
physically active. ... Sports drinks -- which are available in a range of
calories -- can also be an option for those who are working out, training,
exposed to high temperatures or simply seeking refreshment as part of an active
and healthy lifestyle."
Karen
Dolins, a sports nutritionist at Columbia University, has been paid what she
says is a pittance by Gatorade as a speaker. She says the fact that a company
pays for research doesn't automatically mean the research is invalid.
"I
think that's also a very important reason we have peer reviewed journals so
that there are people who are reviewing the research," she said.
"The
sad, sad state of affairs is where else are you going to get research
from?" she said. "You're not going to get large NIH grants to study
sports nutrition issues. ... [The money from Gatorade] in no way influences
what I do and what I say. I'm a professor. I teach sports nutrition and one of
the most important pieces that I try to get across with my students is how to
actually evaluate the research."
Dolins
agreed the average workout doesn't require a sports drink for hydration.
"Are
sports drinks appropriate for everyone? Absolutely not. Are they appropriate
for some people? Absolutely so. And I think that determination has to be made
on an individual, case by case basis," she said. "I don't think there
should be any sweetened beverages in our schools."
The reality
check say Oxford researchers is that just because sports drinks may be good for
Olympians does not necessarily mean they are good for the rest of us,
especially children.
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