In a new review published in the Journal of Medical Ethics – a journal of The BMJ – researchers claim there is no strong evidence that nutritional supplements and sports drinks are good for health. As such, they say manufacturers of such products should not sponsor sports.

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Researchers say that the efficacy of commonly sold nutritional supplements and sports drinks “has little or no scientific backing,” but sports sponsorship “removes any skepticism” of such products.

In a spotlight feature earlier this year, Medical News Today asked whether companies that sell “junk food” should be sponsoring major sporting events, such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games.

Thiago Hérick de Sá, of the Department of Nutrition at the University of São Paulo’s School of Public Health in Brazil, said such sponsorships from companies such as Coca-Cola, Budweiser and McDonald’s “represent a direct attack” on worldwide efforts to tackle consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks.

“The basic aim of any company is to sell their products or services and to profit,” de Sá told us. “The sponsorship of major sporting events [by fast-food and sugary drink companies] is part of the company’s marketing strategy to achieve that aim, to encourage people, including children, to consume more of their products.”

In this latest review, Simon Outram and Bob Stewart, of the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living in Melbourne, Australia, say sponsorships of sports from companies that manufacture nutritional supplements and sports drinks also raise public health concerns.

“Supplements and sports drinks are not unhealthy products in the same way as alcohol, sugary drinks and fast foods may popularly be considered ‘unhealthy,'” they note. “However, several concerns have been raised about the risk of accidental doping, the efficacy of products and their respective health risks.”

The researchers say that although adverse effects from supplement use are rare, there is evidence to suggest they can have negative implications for health. They point to a 2012 study, for example, in which researchers linked specific dietary supplements with increased risk of fractures and cancer death.

The team notes that supplement use among professional athletes raises concerns about accidental doping; nutritional supplements may contain illegal substances.

“Although this is not a concern for most people taking supplements,” they add, “it continues to be a significant problem for elite-amateur or semiprofessional athletes who may be subject to doping tests. If caught doping in this manner the implications for career and psychological well-being are likely to be severe.”

Furthermore, they note that sports drinks, just like soft drinks, can be high-calorie. Therefore, excess consumption can increase the risk of overweight and obesity. Earlier this year, MNT reported on a study claiming consumption of sports drinks and energy drinks may lead to unhealthy behaviors among adolescents.

One of the main problems, the researchers say, is that the efficacy of commonly sold nutritional supplements and sports drinks “has little or no scientific backing.”

However, many manufacturers of these products sponsor sports, sporting events and professional athletes, which implies the products are good for general health and athletic performance.

“Successful sponsorship campaigns remove or minimize any skepticism about the product (a common reaction to advertising),” say Outram and Stewart, adding:

It is for good reason that nutritional supplement and sports drinks companies invest heavily in sports sponsorship. Such sponsorship – together with associated product endorsements and advertising – conveys the message that their products are integral to sporting engagement and achievement.

Sports may have found itself lending unwarranted credibility to products that would otherwise not necessarily be seen as beneficial for participation in sports and exercise or as inherently healthy products.”

The researchers note that sports organizations, including the Australian Institute of Sports, have spoken out about the lack of evidence supporting the benefits of nutritional supplements and sports drinks, stating they do not recommend or endorse such products.

What is more, the team points out that the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine issued a joint statement in 2009 claiming many nutritional supplements do not do what they claim, while others are only beneficial for certain sports.

“Although isolated statements such as these are in stark contrast to the ubiquity of supplement and drinks company sponsorship of sports teams and events, they suggest an uneasiness among some sports authorities that sports might be seen as endorsing the use of such products,” they add.

Outram and Stewart admit, however, that if sports authorities, teams and sports personalities stopped sponsorship deals with supplement and sports drinks companies, a big financial gap would be created.

However, they note that “lessons can be learnt from the history of tobacco sponsorship and its gradual restriction, which did not lead to the wholesale collapse of sport.”

“Nevertheless,” they add, “this financial consideration remains an important unknown factor, one with considerable implications for sports participation and associated population health.”

The team concludes that sports sponsorships from supplement and sports drinks manufacturers may be seen positively once there are numerous independent studies supporting the benefits of their products.

“For the present it seems that through its own positive health associations, sports is conveying a similarly positive message about the benefits of using nutritional supplements and rehydration fluids; a message that is not warranted by the evidence.”