Non-jocks gulp down
sports beverages
Judy Hevrdejs / Chicago Tribune
(KRT)
So many people are chugging Gatorade, Powerade, Propel and
their ilk that such beverages controlled the lion's share
of 2003's $3.1 billion retail market for sports
nutritional products.
Sports and energy beverages, in fact, accounted for 63
percent of 2003 retail sales of sports nutritional products,
a market that includes sports bars and supplements, according
to The U.S. Market for Sports Nutritional Products, a new
study by Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.
Although such beverages have long been used by athletes,
recently marketers have been toning down the
"sports" and playing up the "nutrition"
in sports nutritionals, the study notes, to appeal to
health-minded consumers who may have thought such products
were only for hard-core athletes.
That means that those watching their weight – or not
working out – should heed this advice from Lynn
Danford.
"Unless people can afford to be consuming additional
calories from beverages, these products may be providing more
calories than people need and can contribute to weight
gain," said Danford, a nutrition specialist at
Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Yet figuring out how many calories you're getting can be
difficult, she added, because "many of these products
are labeled in such a way that a consumer can be confused
about what a serving size is and what they are actually
ingesting."
Take a 20-ounce bottle of Balance Glaceau Vitaminwater. A
serving has 50 calories. But the bottle has 2.5 servings. Sip
the whole thing for 125 calories.
The same is true with a 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade, which
has 2.5 servings at 50 calories each.
Such beverages can be beneficial before, during or after
workouts, said Susan Kundrat, a visiting dietitian at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's food science
and human nutrition department, but consumers really have to
be aware of the total calories they are taking in.
"We need to realize how we compare something we eat or
drink to the actual time it would take to burn off
calories," she said. "Getting on a treadmill for 45
minutes may burn 300 calories – but you could drink in
300 calories in two minutes."
Added Danford, "Products such as these use the word
'energy,' implying that when people use the drink
– or bar or whatever – that they are going to be
provided some additional energy. In fact, the word
'energy' more accurately means
'calories.'"
Besides calories from sugars, and the salt or sodium content,
"another factor people should consider is whether or not
beverages contain caffeine," Danford said.
"Caffeine acts as a stimulant and can affect
sleep."
Caffeine often is present in drinks dubbed "energy
drinks."
"People might choose something like that without really
understanding whether or not it's appropriate for them
and any health implications," Danford said.
"Simply ingesting a sports beverage," she added,
"does not make one an athlete."
Sure, these drinks will give you "energy" –
by way of calories.
___
© 2004, Chicago Tribune.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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