The rise of exercise

Go back nearly 20 years to 2000, and sports/exercise nutrition products were around but used very differently when compared with today.

This nutrition was very much the preserve of elite athletes and bodybuilders. You would expect the likes of bodybuilders to use products in various forms. You would be harder pressed to find many people in your local leisure centre or gym who were using protein products and recovery drinks.

Yet, over the past two decades – in fact, perhaps even less time than that – sports nutrition has become ubiquitous. Of course, it is used by professional sportspeople and elite performance athletes as a crucial part of their training regimes, but products are not limited to that small demographic. They are now the preserve of the public en masse – ranging from the ardent gym-goer to those taking steps to be more active and recognising how sensible use of sports nutrition can assist their progress.

We’ve moved from a time when protein powders, gels and other products could only be found in specialist suppliers to one where products are available on the shelves of your local supermarket or even in petrol stations.

This should prompt three questions – the first two of which are related. The first is, why has the change happened? The second and related question is, what benefits do sports nutrition products have? And the third, very important question is, how can the public ensure they’re using the correct products – namely those that do what they say on the packaging, and safely aid performance and recovery?

Development and benefits

The first two of these questions can be answered by the very definition of what sports nutrition products are; namely, carefully developed products that support individuals’ physical activity and are convenient to use any time, especially before, during and after exercise. Not a replacement for a healthy diet, but additions providing the types of protein, vitamins, minerals and hydration the body needs to perform activity and to recover from what in some cases may be strenuous exercise.

The principles behind sports nutrition are nothing new – since ancient times and the first Olympics, athletes have sought to improve their performance not just through their training, but also through the food and drink they consume. From the 1940s onwards, the use of ‘supplements’ (to use the term in the loosest possible sense) emerged in the sport of bodybuilding, with competitors consuming sugars and starches in the first generation of sports nutrition products.

As science has evolved, the products have too, and consumers have become more aware of sports nutrition products and recognised that they’re not just for bodybuilders or professional athletes, but are conveniently packaged products that can support anyone (alongside a sensible and balanced diet) in their physical activity.

The growth in sales of sports nutrition products demonstrates this public knowledge and understanding. The sale of protein products has increased by 20% in the UK alone in the past five years, and UK consumers spend millions on sports nutrition products each year. From its humble beginnings of the ancient Olympics, sports nutrition is now a multibillion global industry.

Such growth has come with the rapid development, availability and promotion of a dizzying array of products. Consumers have been faced with a range of choice like never before, which means it’s essential for the public to understand what represents best practice in the market, and what they should be looking for to ensure they’re using products properly and safely.

Safety and best practice

There is, of course, an important and clear distinction that must be made. Sports nutrition should be carefully developed and clearly labelled products designed to provide important and appropriate nutrition that should not be confused with illegal performance-enhancing substances. This brings us to how the public can ensure they’re using the correct products and can have confidence in what they’re paying for.

Sports nutrition products are required to comply with detailed and extensive EU food regulations. These govern how products are formulated and manufactured, and how they are labelled – essentially guiding and determining what ‘claims’ they’re able to make about what they’ll do for the consumer.

It’s important this framework is in place, but the means by which consumers can purchase products has also evolved. The presence of tabs, gels and bars on your supermarket shelves might be a demonstration of how ubiquitous sports nutrition has become, but the sector has also been influenced by the rise of online shopping like so many other consumer products.

That means it’s entirely possible for consumers to meet their sports nutrition needs online, and they often do. This necessitates effective and extensive regulation to protect them, and requires concerted monitoring to ensure compliance with those requirements.

The regulation of sports nutrition has a lengthy history, but one that is contributing significantly to the growth of the industry and the wide range of products consumers can enjoy today. About 15 years ago, the European Commission had intended to significantly restrict the composition of products through strict legislation that would have hamstrung development and innovation – ultimately reducing consumer choice.

The campaign to ensure appropriate regulation and the inclusion of sport nutrition within EU general food law prompted the founding of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) to engage with the EU institutions and ensure regulation protected the consumer while also facilitating choice and the industry’s growth.

The current EU regulatory structure to support the industry and protect consumers has taken more than a decade to confirm, but the system now in place has robust measures to help ensure consumer safety. Inevitably challenges remain – in the UK, for example, further changes may be seen as a consequence of Brexit, with the regulation of products to fall under the purview of the national government rather than the EU. Different EU members states have interpreted and implemented regulatory structures in different ways, and at different paces, which means a consumer in one country may not immediately have the same access to products in another. Of course, individual countries have introduced their own national laws affecting sports nutrition products.

Fundamentally, the system is sound, but what is most important for consumers is arguably how the regulation of sports nutrition products, which has been developed over many years, is enforced. That is the ultimate insurance that consumers can access, purchase and use products that are safe, and that do not make unsubstantiated claims about their benefits.

The ‘competent authorities’ responsible for enforcing EU-wide regulations on food law – including sports nutrition – are those of individual member states such as the UK’s Food Standards Agency. Theirs is an important job in protecting consumers, and also the reputation of the sector.

That reputation faces continual threats if manufacturers and retailers of sport nutrition products don’t adhere to EU standards – and this brings us back to how consumers can ensure they’re getting what they paid for, and what they’re paying for is safe. As with every industry, there are some rogue elements: companies that operate and trade illegally by misleading the customer about their ingredients or making false claims about the benefits of their products. These problems aren’t exclusive to products bought online, but inevitably the exponential growth of online retail does present unique challenges for ensuring products are safe.

What does that mean for the consumer?

First and foremost, the vast majority of manufacturers and retailers in the industry adhere to the rigorous European standards. Their products can be trusted to contain and do what they say on the proverbial tin, but consumers should also know what to look for and how to check if the products they’re buying comply with EU law.

Given the need to protect consumers and the reputation of a significant industry, the ESSNA trade association also serves as a source of information on what consumers can expect and a means of ensuring companies meet their obligations.

Recognising the potential harm that rogue traders could cause, ESSNA established an enforcement campaign, with the capacity for consumers or concerned parties to highlight examples of products or companies they believe may be selling banned ingredients or making misleading claims. This enables ESSNA to communicate with businesses and ensure they’re aware of their responsibilities under the law.

The campaign has successfully addressed dozens of products, helping to reduce the scourge of rouge products that are at best disingenuous and at worst potentially dangerous. It is also important to note that producers and manufacturers of foods, drinks and supplements can’t fully ‘eliminate’ the risk of adulteration or crosscontamination. Many companies, therefore, go a step further and have their final products tested by an independent testing facility for minute traces of banned substances to ensure that the consumer can be confident about the safety of their sports nutrition products. ESSNA further encourages these industry efforts and has developed a guidance for businesses on how to avoid inadvertent doping and is currently also feeding into work on potential European anti-doping standards.

But the lesson must still be that consumers should be cognisant of what should and should not be in sports nutrition products, and make sure they do due diligence to ensure they’re buying from a reputable source.

Sports nutrition – the future

The growth of the sports nutrition industry shows no signs of abating. Indeed, sports nutrition is only going to become more prominent and an everyday part of more people’s activity and fitness regimes.

That should be welcomed in supporting health and well-being – while recognising that products cannot and should not be a replacement for a healthy and balanced diet. Rather, they are a convenient means of consuming what the body needs to support an active lifestyle.

It has been an important evolution for these products to move into the mainstream – aiding people trying to be active, alongside sports enthusiasts and, ultimately, elite performance athletes.

While the undoubted benefits of sports nutrition is clear, just as important is the need for consumers to be protected from products that don’t meet the rigorous standards set by the EU and enforced by individual members states. Consumers must ensure the products they seek to benefit from are compliant with the law – meaning companies don’t exaggerate the benefits of their products, and above all, are safe.

Information is paramount in meeting these requirements. Consumers must, of course, do their due diligence, but it remains incumbent on the likes of ESSNA to ensure companies are aware of their obligations and that consumers are protected.

We’ve come a long way from rudimentary supplements of old. The future lies in more science-based, complex products, and we should welcome these being available to all.