Education Interventions to Improve Knowledge, Beliefs, Intentions and Practices with Respect to Dietary Supplements and Doping Substances: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The misuse of dietary supplements and doping substances is commonly associated with toxicity, nutritional imbalances, and health and psychological consequences. This is alarming especially in light of the increasing prevalence of the use of dietary supplements and doping, particularly among young adults including athletes. There is evidence that education interventions can lead to improved knowledge, intentions, and practices. However, no review has summarized and evaluated the effectiveness of such interventions. The aim of this article is to review the characteristics, contents and effects of education interventions that were designed and implemented to improve knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and intentions with respect to the use of dietary supplements and doping agents in different populations. PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycInfo and Google Scholar were searched for English-language education interventions targeting dietary supplements and doping substances. A total of 20 articles were identified and have generally provided consistent findings. Most interventions reported a significant improvement in knowledge on dietary supplements and doping agents. Unfortunately, the heavy reliance on self-reported assessment tools limits the validity of these interventions, with almost all articles targeting athletes and adolescents.

Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among Athletes Worldwide: A Scoping Review

“…Accurate information is needed to make informed decisions and protect against inadvertent doping and dietary supplement misuse. The integration of nutritional-knowledge programs may be highly valuable to increase the knowledge, beliefs and intentions of athletes who choose to consume dietary supplements [ 16 ].…”

“…Given that common sources of dietary supplement-related information come from fellow teammates, coaches, the internet, family and friends or their judgment [ 6 ], an educational intervention program is a possible way to improve dietary supplement knowledge among athletes to decrease the risk of dietary supplement misuse and inadvertent doping [ 16 ]. Considering the many risks associated with dietary supplement consumption, a food-first approach is often recommended to all populations when considering the use of dietary supplements.…”

Dietary Supplements: A Gateway to Doping?

“…The widespread use of DS and the numerous contributing factors (such as sources of information, awareness of dietary supplement regulations, perceptions of doping and DS use, contamination of DS, and motivations for DS use) indicate that intervention education programmes designed to focus on improving the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards DS use may be an excellent first line of defence against inadvertent doping. Many reviews focusing on DS use in athletes have found compelling evidence in support of interventional education programmes for athletes (and young athletes, especially), coaches, and parents/family members [ 9 , 11 , 53 , 58 ].…”

“…A narrative review focusing on educational interventions to advance understanding, attitudes, behaviours, and practices about DS and doping substances found consensus among the studies, proving educational intervention to be effective at increasing knowledge of DS and doping substances among participants [ 58 ]. The majority of the studies in this review delivered their curricular materials through a variety of methods.…”

Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drugs and Substances: The Role of the School Nurse

“…Prevention efforts in school age children and adolescents can be accomplished through behavior change education and teaching them the value of competing within their own physical limitations (Poppel, 2021). It is important to note that many education interventions were successful in changing attitudes and intentions regarding doping (Daher et al, 2021). However, fostering a culture of anti-doping requires prevention and treatment measures in addition to education.…”