include ‘contains calcium’, ‘delivers 2200 low-fat
calories per serving’, ‘contains di- and tripep-
tides’, and ‘provides nine important vitamins
and minerals’. Provided that these claims
conform to the product’s actual content, they are
nothing more than statements of fact.
Ethical considerations regarding
sports nutrition products
The International Olympic Committee’s list of
banned drugs provides a relatively clear-cut, but
by no means uncontroversial, way of identifying
a substance ‘which because of its nature, dosage,
or application is able to boost the athlete’s perfor-
mance in competition in an artificial and unfair
manner’ (International Olympic Committee
1995). The IOC regulations also state that ‘doping
is the administration of or the use by a competing
athlete of any substance foreign to the body or of
any physiological substance taken in abnormal
quantity or by an abnormal route of entry into
the body, with the intention of increasing in an
artificial and unfair manner his performance in
competition’. The wording of this sentence may
be instructive in the evaluation of the ethical con-
siderations surrounding the use of some nutri-
tional supplements. However, as with the IOC’s
restrictions against doping, a clear understand-
ing of the ethical issues regarding nutritional
supplementation can be hard to come by. For
example, the ingestion of a glucose–electrolyte
solution during exercise involves a normal route
of administration of a normal quantity of nutri-
ents and consequently presents little in the way
of ethical concerns. On the other hand, if a cyclist
were to receive the same nutrients intravenously
while riding in competition, such administration
would surely be considered abnormal and
ethically questionable. Yet, it is quite common
for athletes to receive intravenous glucose–
electrolyte solutions following training and com-
petition under the guise of medical necessity
when the actual intent is to hasten recovery.
In discussing the ethical considerations of
using nutritional ergogenic aids, Williams (1994)
noted that some nutrients given in high doses
526 practical issues
can exert pharmacological effects, responses that
would appear to be at odds with the language of
the IOC doping regulations. One such example is
niacin (vitamin B 3 ), high doses of which are com-
monly prescribed to reduce serum cholesterol
(DiPalma & Thayer 1991), an effect that is clearly
pharmacological. If similarly large doses of a
vitamin improved performance, would this be
considered a pharmacological or nutritional
effect? Similarly, as also noted by Williams
(1994), if research confirms the ergogenic effect of
creatine loading, what are the attendant ethical
considerations? Does the fact that the body nor-
mally synthesizes creatine preclude it from being
considered a nutrient? Are the effects of creatine
feeding pharmacological or physiological, rather
than nutritional? Does it matter? These same
questions can surely be applied to any nutrient
ingested in amounts far exceeding the estab-
lished values of normal nutritional requirements.
Regardless of the murky nature of some issues
involving sports nutrition supplements, the
reality is that thousands of such products are
marketed around the world.Categories of
sports nutrition products
A variety of authors and organizations have
attempted to categorize sports nutrition prod-
ucts to establish a framework by which the
efficacy of the products can be more easily
evaluated. Three such attempts at categorization
are briefly described below. As with all systems
of categorization, each has its own merits and
limitations.
Burke and Read (1993) suggested a simple
two-category approach that classifies sports
nutrition supplements as either dietary supple-
ments or nutritional ergogenic aids. According to
the authors, dietary supplements provide a con-
venient and practical means of consuming nutri-
ents to meet the special dietary needs of athletes.
In this regard, the supplement itself does not
directly improve performance, but simply meets
a dietary need. Examples include sports drinks,
high-carbohydrate supplements, liquid meal