Nutritional supplement use by elite young UK athletes: fallacies of advice regarding efficacy

Participants were elite UK male and female athletes, within the age range between 12 and 21 (n = 403), mean age 17.66 ± 1.99. Associations between type of supplements and reasons for using supplements were tested by calculating Pearson's χ2 and the strength of these symmetric associations shown by phi (？) association coefficients.Single supplement use was reported by 48.1%, with energy drinks being the most popular, consumed by 41.7% of all athletes and 86.6% of the supplement users in the sample. No agreement was observed between athletes' rationale and behaviour in relation to nutritional supplements except for creatine. Among health professionals, nutritionists and physiotherapists, followed by coaches, were most frequently consulted. Answers regarding reasons and supplements used showed incongruence and suggest widespread misinformation regarding supplements and their effects is an issue for the young athlete.Widespread supplement taking behaviour was evidenced in the young elite athlete population with the most notable congruence between rationale and practice among young athletes being performance-related. Young athletes in the present sample appear to be less 'health conscious' and more 'performance focused' than their adult counterparts. Further research, using a full list of supplements, is warranted to test the hypothesis that health consciousness is less dominant in supplement choice by young athletes.'Supplement' is an overarching name for vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies, and other substances taken orally and regulated as foods and are subject to the general provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990, the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. In the UK, supplements are required to exhibit efficacy before marketing only if they contain medical claims and fall outside food regulations. Previous studies have highlighted incongruencies between choices of supplement use in adult high performing athletes and reasons for use. Choi