The energy drinks offered to athletes would not have more virtues than water. Sponsorship by stars should be banned, concludes a team of Australian doctors.
The promotion of energy drinks by sports stars should be banned. This is what Australian researchers, authors of a recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ.)
Led by doctors, the study consists of analyzing, on the one hand, the energetic effects on the body during physical exercise and the marketing image of the drink and its effect on consumers on the other.
Same effects as water
Energy drinks (not to be confused with energy drinks) are supposed to bring sugar to the body and rehydrate after physical exertion. However, researchers estimate that below 90 minutes of physical activity, the drink does not provide additional energy and just helps to hydrate, like water. In addition, “there is no evidence that they are good for your health,” say the doctors. The latter therefore recommend to prefer water to these drinks.
False advertising
Celebrities are responsible for this misconception, according to the study’s authors. Football, tennis or golf stars … Many people praise the merits of these drinks in advertisements. “The sponsorship works extremely well thanks to these stars and at the same time it cancels the skepticism that consumers might have vis-à-vis the product,” explain Simon Outram and Bob Stewart of the Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Active Living. from Melbourne.
This is the reason why the researchers suggest banning these advertisements, which they consider to be false. Instead, they propose “that companies focus more on the nutritional and energy supplements of sports drinks and that the sponsorship be more focused on health.”
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