Youth athletes’ framing of nutritional supplements: Performance enhancement and food

Abstract

Prior studies have revealed how some nutritional supplements used to enhance performance in sports are considered problematic because they are associated with doping. In this study, frame analysis is applied to scrutinise interviews conducted with 24 ambitious youth athletes enrolled in elite sport schools. The analysis enables exploration of the athletes’ understanding and meaning-making concerning the so-called grey zone supplements in terms of two major frames. The first performance frame is expected as the context is elite youth sport, and many aspects of the athletes’ lives revolve around athletic progress. However, the more interesting finding is that this performance frame permeates almost all aspects of the young athletes’ lives, including how food is both understood and consumed. The second frame implies the framing of nutritional supplements as food. Here, the use of supplements is rationalised by practical concerns such as hectic training and teaching schedules that leave little time for meals, with supplements becoming a quick fix to meet energy needs. Hence, meaning-making concerning the grey zone supplements gives rise to an alternative framing linked to food and eating, although an overarching logic of performance also exerts a significant impact.