Report

Nutritional supplement use is common among athletes with a physical impairment

Assessing the use of nutritional substances for athletes with physical impairments

Lead academic:
Professor Vicky Tolfrey
Funder:
The Peter Harrison Foundation

It is widely accepted that nutrition can influence exercise performance and that it should be integrated into an athlete’s programme to fully capitalise on their athletic potential.

Likewise, the use of some nutritional supplements (NS) may also have the ability to improve sporting performance. It is therefore unsurprising that the consumption of NS is common among able-bodied athletes (~50-80%) yet we currently do not understand the NS practices of athletes with an impairment.

Methods

  • The questionnaire included; i) 12 closed and 9 open-ended; ii) 10 multiple-choice; iii) 7 Likert-type rating scale; and iv) 2 ranking questions. The questionnaire captured data pertaining to individual characteristics, NS habits, reasons for NS use/ non-use and sources of information. The questionnaire was made available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.
  • A total of 399 athletes (74% male, 26% female) across 5 impairment categories (42% spinal cord injury, 19% amputation, 18% Les Autres, 11% cerebral palsy and 10% visual impairment), 28 sports and 21 Nationalities completed the questionnaire.

Main findings and applications

  • 58% of athletes reported the use of NS in the previous 6 months.
  • Most used NS were similar to able-bodied athletes; protein, sports drinks, multivitamins and carbohydrate providing NS. As were their top reasons for use; recovery, immunity, and energy.
  • 41% of athletes followed the able-bodied recommendations on the NS label, which may be linked to the 9% that experienced negative sideeffects following their use.
  • Elite athletes were 1.6 times more likely to use NS than those at a lower level, which is likely linked to longer training hours and/or access to a nutritionist/ dietitian.
  • 52% of athletes indicated that they would like more information/education on NS.
  • Top 3 sources of information on NS were sports nutritionist/dietitian, coach and training partner/athlete. Hence, impairment-specific NS information should be delivered on coaching courses, and sports nutritionists/dietitians should be upskilled to deliver NS education to athletes themselves.

Reference

Graham-Paulson, T.S., Perret, C., Smith, B., Crosland, J. and Goosey-Tolfrey, V.L. (2015). Nutritional supplement habits of athletes with an impairment and their sources of information. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 25(4): 387-395. DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2014-0155

Thank you to The World Anti-Doping Agency for helping to fund this project through a Social Science Research Grant. The final report can be seen here: www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/ social-science/nutritional-supplement-habitsand-perceptions-of-athletes-with-a-disability