Coach’s Corner November 2011

I’m receiving quite a few lengthy questions via e-mail or on the comment section of this blog, so I decided to set up a monthly/bi-monthly/whatever installment where I answer them. Sorta like a Q&A thingy, if ya will.

As a tribute to my love for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and Don Cherry’s first intermission antics that for decades have stirred up the hockey world, I’m naming this series Coach’s Corner.

I wonder where Don gets his suits?

Here’s a Q on a recent nutrition post which illustrates the shady side of food business, provoking quite a few responses from my readers.

“I wonder what are your thoughts on “light” sport drinks then? I’m currently in the States studying and Powerade Zero is a huge hit here for example. Isn’t the whole concept of having a sports drink to keep giving you energy and supposedly this drink doesn’t have calories now? What I’m asking is, is it any better drinking this zero then?” – Irene, U.S.

I’ve never heard of Powerade Zero before so I looked it up on their website. And boy, do I sometimes hate to be associated with the fitness industry…

I’m sorry, Irene, but seeing as false, ridiculous fitness and nutrition marketing is a pet peeve of mine, I can’t help but widen our focus beyond the basic “is X better than Y?” type of approach to a more all-encompassing scope of what manufacturers claim vs. what effect their products really have.

Add in the fact that I’m completely enamored by studying consumer behavior, marketing tactics and seller/buyer dynamics, this article is an expanded – although obviously not an exhaustive – outlook on the different forces and mechanics at play in the sports drinks industry.

First thing we need to understand is that nutrition & weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry still in the growth phase. In plain English: there’s loads of moolah to be made by pushing the right products to the right target market(s).

According to a summary of an industry report compiled by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. – a reputed publisher of off-the-shelf market research, globally recognized as one of the world’s largest market research publishers – dating back to 2007:

“Sports and energy drinks are high priced premium functional beverages market that witnessed robust growth over the last decade. The United States continues to be the largest market, worth an estimated U.S. $12.5 billion in 2007, followed by Europe and Japan.” (1)

Sports and energy drinks are high margin products, since they’re cheap to produce (cheap ingredients to begin with, plus low wages as machines perform most – if not all – of the assembly line work) and sell for a premium price due to the population’s growing awareness of physical health that beverage producers exploit by aggressively marketing “proven” health benefits and ease of use.

“The desire to lead healthy lives and the importance of exercise in physical well-being is a major growth driver propelling consumption of these new age beverages. Sports drinks are driven by unique product concepts, new brands, flavors and brand extensions of popular products.” (1)

While sports drinks, protein shakes and other supplements were for the most part marketed to professional athletes and bodybuilders in the past, that market segment is already widely saturated and a fairly narrow specialist segment at that. After all, high-level performance and physique athletes combine for a tiny fraction of the overall market pie.

No longer only for the meatheads

We can see how producers are stepping up their marketing game, having moved from targeting a specialty niche to now catering to the gen pop where the big bucks lie. Apparently females possess a weak point for industry jargon…

“Leading companies are responding to flavor preferences of women with buzzwords such as light, sugar-free, low-carb, crisp and delicately carbonated beverages.” (1)

Now let’s look at why, according to their home page, Powerade Zero should be used…

“[It] helps to prevent dehydration and changes in mineral balance that can affect your performance” when consumed during, and “helps you to replace fluid and minerals lost through sweat” when consumed after training. (2)

Scientific studies back these claims up. Notably, through excessive sweating, our electrolyte balance goes wack and if that balance is not replaced, our performance takes a dive.

“A plethora of investigations examining fluid intake before, during, and after training and competition have suggested that a lack of adequate fluid intake will impair or decrease physical performance.” (3)

- and -

“Inadequate hydration will cause significant decrements in performance, increase thermal stress, reduce plasma volume, accelerate fatigue, and possibly cause injuries associated with fluid and sweat loss.” (3)

So far so good.

On the homepage of Powerade Zero, they claim the beverage is recommended to be consumed “when you’re taking part in lighter training or sports sessions lasting 60 minutes or less.”

That doesn’t really sound necessary from a performance enhancement point of view, now does it?

“Depending upon the type of training or competition, individuals training for prolonged endurance events should drink fluids containing carbohydrates and electrolytes during and after training or competition.” (3)

Isn’t Powerade Zero marketed as carb-free? And is 60 minutes of non-strenuous training really the same as “prolonged endurance events”?

I see a huge disparity here.

If your training lasts less than one hour and can be depicted as “light” why would you ever need to pay a few bucks for a beverage when you’ll get the same (if not better) benefits straight outta faucet for free?

Don’t you think that if our systems couldn’t recuperate from such a short and mildly intense training session, Mother Nature would have Powerade Zero oozing all over this planet in excess? We’d have Lemon Lime oceans and Mixed Berry raindrops falling out of the sky to ensure that our weak, malnourished bodies could function until the next day.

“Light” or “low carb” are marketing phraseology courtesy of our wonderful multi-billion fitness and nutrition industry, whose real knack lies in making everybody as confused as a hungry baby in a topless bar.

If you were really serious about your results, you would get your training, eating habits, recovery and life in check before ever thinking about some silly, trendy beverage. When those parts are handled, you can add in supplements IF you feel the need to.

However, those who fall for this overhyped “light” stuff – and there are a whole lotta more than you’d believe, as evidenced by the popularity of said items – are without fail the ones who haven’t got the basics down. Thus, their endless search for a magic pill continues yet the only place they lose weight is around the middle of their wallets.

Once again we’re facing a plethora of marketing gimmicks aimed at the quick-fix-seeking crowd of consumers.

So to answer the original questions in conclusion…

“Isn’t the whole concept of having a sports drink to keep giving you energy and supposedly this drink doesn’t have calories now?”

You’re right on the money there. For a prolonged endurance event (a very long bike ride for example) it’s probably better than plain water since the mineral salts contained in the drink will help restore electrolyte balance but you won’t be getting “energy” since it’s a no-carb, no-calorie beverage.

“What I’m asking is, is it any better drinking this zero then?”

Let’s say you were participating in a marathon. And having completed a few, I believe I know a thing or two about crossing the finishing line on your own legs. There’s no way I would personally rely on Zero as going without any calories – especially carbs – during the 3+ hours it takes a hobby runner to get from start to finish will leave you fucking drained.

It’s never a pleasant sight when somebody in front of you drops to the ground during the last few kilometers due to them being completely void of energy, likely because they didn’t eat and drink properly before and throughout the run.

Drinking the original Powerade/Gatorade helped me complete a race just fine. Honestly, I don’t think any “light” version could compare.

References:

(1) http://www.prlog.org/10022363-sports-and-energy-drinks-energize-growth-in-12-5-billion-beverage-market-according-to-new-report.html

(2) http://www.poweradegb.com/powerade/zero

(3) Von Duvillard et al, Sports drinks, exercise training, and competition. Current Sports Medicine Reports: July/August 2008 – Volume 7 – Issue 4 – pp 202-208

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