Anette Skilbred has conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews ) with 24 teenagers.
All attended elite, private sports high schools and practiced diiferent sports, such as handball, football, biathlon, ice hockey, athletics, swimming, cross country skiing, and motocross.
Many of them describe a hectic daily routines that do not include enough time to to make a proper meal.
"So I come home, shower, and eat. Actually, I should have eaten before I shower because you need to have nutrition as soon as possible to get as much as possible out of the session, but, like, if I am sweaty, I quickly get cold and then it is easy to get sick, so often I eat a slice of bread while in the shower [...]"
Student athlete and participant in the study.
The goal of the study was to find out what understanding these ambitious sports youth have of performance-enhancing substances, such as dietary supplements.
Knows a lot about about dietary supplements
- Anette Skilbred is a PhD research fellow at the Institute of Social and Sports Science at NIH
- The project is funded by the Norwegian Sports Federation and Antidoping Norway.
- On June 21, she will defend her dissertation: Young athletes and performance improvement: A social-constructivist perspective.
"I have not asked them directly if they use it or not. The focus has been on how they make sense of, for example, dietary supplements, and who influences them," Skilbred explains.
Based on the interviews, it appears that they receive a lot of instruction and have enough knowledge. They also have lots of people they can ask if they are unsure about dietary supplements.
"I think I might ask my mom first, she is kind of my other coach in a way, so I might ask her. And then I probably ask my coach too, but then we have a dietitian, so we know that we can just send a message to her or contact her, or have a meeting with her for example."
Student athlete and participant in the study.
In the interviews, the researcher asked the students who they talk to, what they talk about, and who they ask if they have questions.
"The challenge as I see it is that they have a hectic daily life, and the practicalities around cooking are something that affects how they view dietary supplements. Then one can understand that it becomes a practical solution."
The study shows how young and ambitious practitioners constantly work to improve their performances, and as they get older, more people are involved in the process.
Skilbred says that the network the student athletes are part of has a great influence on how they view the choices they make to perform better. Whether it includes training, nutrition, or the use of dietary supplements.
There are many choices that are evaluated against how they can become the best in the future, the research fellow describes.
Knows Enough About the Consequences
Skilbred wants to point out that there is no lack of knowledge and information among the student athletes.
"If the goal is that they should not use dietary supplements, then it is not more information they need. They have the knowledge and know about possible consequences if the dietary supplement is contaminated and that it can lead to a positive doping test. They are almost a bit fed up with hearing about it," the research fellow says.
The students say that they have received good information about the consequences through lectures and e-learning from Anti-Doping Norway both through sports teams and school.
She herself is keen [to point out] that parents and coaches do not need to worry if the teens decide to take dietary supplements.
She acknowledges that there is a risk that the dietary supplement is contaminated. However, the use of certain dietary supplements does not necessarily lead to uncritical thinking and use of other prohibited substances.
Many do not see dietary supplements as something they take to get better in their choosen sport.
"The youth do not seem to believe in 'quick fixes', and in this sense, dietary supplements do not appear as something that can be a shortcut to quickly becoming the best. They are not naive and know what has to be done to become really good."
Three suggestions for measures at top sports high schools
So what should the top sports high schools do to make things easier for the student athletes? Skilbred has three concrete suggestions:
- Be available to discuss alternatives. A coach or teacher does not have to say that dietary supplements are unnecessary. Be curious about how they reflect on the subject.
- Include cooking lessons in the class schedule and take something else out, maybe even training? Give them time and help to cook meals. Many of these teens move away from home as a 15 or 16 year old to focus on sports. Maybe they need support and time to prioritize cooking.
- Talk about food and meals as social and enjoyable, and not just as components on a plate.
Food as part of "performance logic"
Skilbred emphasizes that she has not focused on nutrition and eating disorders in her project. However, she believes that her findings can be related to these problems.
"Food is treated as part of the 'performance logic' of these athletes. Therefore, I think it is important that food and meals are not just protein and carbohydrates, but a dinner and social activity that the young people gather around."
Through the long interviews, Skilbred gets the impression that the students also know a lot about nutrition.
They know the plate model and know what they should include in a nutritious meal.
There is simply not enough time.
Then perhaps larger changes and measures around the school day of the students, who describe it as very hectic, are needed.
"We talk about the athletes having to have better attitudes, but maybe we should change the structures instead? Maybe owe should do things a little differently for these young people who focus so hard on their sport. Couldn't we provide more space to sit down and have a nice, social meal together?" asks the research fellow.
The defense is open to everyone and will also be streamed on NIH's YouTube channel.
Read Skillbed's entire dissertation.
This article has been translated using AI and quality assured by NIH's editorial team.
Referances
Skilbred, A., Loland, S., & Strandbu, A. (2024). Young networked athletes and performance-enhancing substances: who are the actors in their network, and how do the actors shape athletes’ meaning-making? European Journal for Sport and Society, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2024.2335578