What’s big at the 2012 Olympics? Pseudoscience, bad medical research, and hucksterism. Products like “sports drinks” Gatorade and Lucozade, sponsors of the international athletic event, claim to improve endurance and/or performance. A special feature of BMJ (the British Medical Journal) judged the claims and awarded low scores all around:
“There is a striking lack of evidence to support the vast majority of sports-related products that make claims related to enhanced performance or recovery, including drinks, supplements or footwear.”
More:
“The truth about sports drinks,” Deborah Cohen, BMJ (related content here)
“Research pours cold water on alleged benefits of sports products,” Denis Campbell, The Guardian
“Prescription For Olympics: Grains Of Salt With The Sports Drink Ads,” Carey Goldberg, WBUR blog
“Sports Drinks: Empty Calories?” Sheila Eldred, Discovery News
“The Controversial Science of Sports Drinks,” Lindsay Abrams, The Atlantic
“Do Sports Drinks Really Work? ” David Tuller, Mother Jones
“The truth about sports performance products,” Amanda Johnson, Food Stuff
___________________
Short Link:
http://wp.me/p6sb6-dGt
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Tags: advertising, BMJ, Gatorade, Olympics, research, sports drinks
