Athletes using ergogenic and medical sport supplements report more favourable attitudes to doping than non-users

Abstract Objectives Our study objectives were twofold: 1) examine whether users and non-users of different types of sport supplements vary in doping attitudes and sport supplement beliefs, and 2) determine whether the type of sport supplement is directly and indirectly (via sport supplement beliefs) related to doping attitudes. Design Cross-sectional survey. Methods Athletes (N = 557; 77% male, mean ± standard deviation; age = 20.8 ± 4.5 years, training = 5.7 ± 4.2 h per week, competing = 11.1 ± 5.2 years) completed measures of sport supplement use, sport supplement beliefs, and doping attitudes. Sport supplements were classified into: ergogenic, medical, sport food and drinks, and superfoods. Results Compared to non-users, users of ergogenic (d = 0.31, p  Conclusions Researchers examining the relationship between sport supplement use and doping should differentiate between sport supplement types to improve measurement accuracy. Sport practitioners administering ergogenic and medical sport supplements to athletes may need to provide additional anti-doping education to counteract any favourable attitudes towards doping.