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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Athletes should carefully consider the use of botanical food supplements (BFSs) given the current lack of substantiation for botanical nutrition and health claims under EU and UK food laws. In addition, athletes may be at an increased risk of doping violations and other adverse outcomes potentially associated with BFS use; however, little is known about athletes’ intake, knowledge, or perceptions in relation to BFS use. An online cross-sectional survey of n = 217 elite and amateur athletes living on the island of Ireland was conducted using Qualtrics XM to assess intake, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions. General food supplements (FSs) were reported by approximately 60% of the study cohort, and 16% of the supplements reported were categorized as BFS. The most frequently consumed BFSs were turmeric/curcumin (14%), Ashwagandha (10%), and Beetroot extract (8%). A higher proportion of amateur athletes would source information about BFSs from less credible sources, such as fellow athletes, or from internet sources or their coach, compared to elite athletes. Those who sourced information about botanicals from fellow athletes (p = 0.03) or the internet (p = 0.02) reported a lower perceived level of risks associated with BFS use. This study therefore suggests that amateur athletes may be more likely to source information from less credible sources compared to elite athletes who may have more access to nutrition professionals and their knowledge/advice. This may have potential adverse implications for amateur athletes, e.g., Gaelic games players, who are included within the doping testing pool but who may not have access to evidence-based nutrition advice.

Details

Title
Athletes Perceived Level of Risk Associated with Botanical Food Supplement Use and Their Sources of Information
Author
McDaid, Bridin 1 ; Wardenaar, Floris C 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Woodside, Jayne V 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Neville, Charlotte E 3 ; Tobin, David 4 ; Madigan, Sharon 5 ; Nugent, Anne P 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK 
 College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA; [email protected] 
 Centre for Public Health, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK 
 Sport Ireland Institute, National Sport Campus, Abbottstown, D15 Y52H Dublin, Ireland[email protected] (S.M.) 
 Sport Ireland Institute, National Sport Campus, Abbottstown, D15 Y52H Dublin, Ireland[email protected] (S.M.); Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland; Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland 
 School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK; Institute of Food and Health, School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland 
First page
6244
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2836360284
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.