Digital Pathways to Doping: An innovative netnographic approach on the use of untested supplements and the underlying cheating culture

Summary

This project is a timely contribution to generate original netnographic data on perceived risks, motivations, “cheating behaviours” and other less explored patterns of consumption of untested supplements sold online, which, in combination with evidence emerged from ongoing toxicological analysis and a collection of case studies, will inform anti-doping prevention in unprecedented ways. The aim of the project was to gain an understanding of patterns of consumption of supplements sold online, including (a) perceived risks, (b) motivations, (c) their connection with doping and (d) “cheating among other risky behaviours”.

Methodology

The project was articulated into 2 phases. In phase 1, an initial systematic monitoring of the Internet was carried out. The search was carried out manually for 30 consecutive days. The results were then manually filtered to avoid duplication and unrelated mentions. This search helped us to identify the most relevant fora for further qualitative analysis. In phase 2, A qualitative analysis of all the comments relating to the products identified during Phase 1 was  undertaken using Brand24 “deep learning” approach. This enables a systematic use of natural language processing, text analysis, computational linguistics and biometrics to identify, extract, quantify, and study affective states and subjective information from users.

Results

We identified the most popular and most discussed types of supplements on the web:

• Creatine

• Branded Chain Amino Acid OR BCAA

• Carnitine

• Casein

• Glucosamine

• Glutamine

• Multimineral

• Multivitamin

• Nitric oxide OR Nitric oxide booster

• Whey protein

• Antioxidant OR antioxidant complex

• Caffeine

• Fish oil OR omega 3 OR fatty acid

• Guarana

• Turmeric OR curcuma

• Keto OR ketogenic

• Taurine

• Pyruvate

• Green tea extract

• Beta alanine

Significance for Clean Sport

The following recommendations could contribute to clean sport:

1) More balanced information should be available on the Internet on advertised products in order to avoid high-risk supplement use and the possible adverse effects associated.

2) Of paramount importance is the need to combine netnographic approaches with laboratory analysis to verify the presence of adulterants in supplements sold online, including substances incorporated in the WADA List of Prohibited Substances.

3)  Doping and wider supplementation is no longer limited to elite sport, but it reachesa population of exercisers in the wider society, including future elite champions. Prevention and education activities should also target this new cohort, which include teenagers and young peoplewho often do not receive any medical advice or supervision of their use.

4) Contamination of the supplements must be more thoroughly assessed to better understand the frequency and likelihood of this potential danger.

5) Doping is a public health issue that is no longer confined to elite athletes. A wider WADA focus on the sporting community, where future athletes grow, might be beneficial.

Related Publications

- The market of sport supplement in the digital era: A netnographic analysis of perceived risks, side-effects and other safety issues