Analysis of Newspaper Article Essay

Exercising daily is beneficial to a person’s health. While many people exercise for this reason, they are seeking methods to improve endurance and performance. In an attempt to offer durability and better endurance, sports drink manufacturers have started to add protein to their products. â€Å"Sports drinks improve performance during prolonged exercise because of two key ingredients, carbohydrates and sodium (Preidt, 2006). † The carbohydrates provide the fuel and the sodium aids in maintaining fluid balance. While sports drinks may be helpful during exercise, added protein may or may not increase performance. Gatorade and Accelerade sports drink companies sponsored two studies to determine if this is true. One study thinks that adding protein increases performance, the other does not. Type of statistical procedure used Sometimes individuals are aware of the experiment and may not be honest about the results from the test. In this test, experimenters were trying to avoid the placebo effect. The placebo effect is when people improve because they think that they are receiving useful treatment (Bennett, Briggs, & Triola, 2003). To rule out the possibility of the placebo effect, the athletes were told that some of the drinks will contain protein; they were not told which ones. The placebo effect would alter the test and the results would be biased because the athletes would claim performance improvement, thinking that their drinks contained protein. When using a placebo, the athletes must know that the drinks may or may not contain protein. But, they must also know that they will not be able to tell the difference in taste. The placebo appears to be the same but lacks the active ingredient; in this case there was no protein present in some of the drinks. The participants were not aware of which drinks had protein, thus their answers would more likely be real. The studies The studies used 10 trained cyclists to determine if adding protein to sports drinks would increase performance and endurance. In the studies, the cyclists did not know which sports drink they were consuming. In both studies the cyclists were given one of three drinks. They were either given a regular sports drink, one with protein added, or a placebo. This trial was taken on three different occasions. Findings The Canadian study, sponsored by Gatorade, found that adding protein does not improve exercise performance (Preidt, 2006). Martin Gibala was the lead researcher for this study. Of the three sports drinks, the results showed that sports drinks overall did improve performance when compared to the placebo. But, the study also showed that the sports drink with the protein was no more beneficial than the regular one (Preidt, 2006). Gibala states â€Å"our study shows that protein confers no performance benefit during ? real-life’ exercise when athletes consume sufficient amounts of sports drinks. † While the Gatorade study does not believe that protein increases performance, Accelerade’s study states otherwise. Accelerade’s sports drink contains carbohydrates, sodium, and protein. The athletes in their study lost about 2. 5 percent of their body weight through exercise-induced sweating. According to the researchers for this study, Accelerade with protein rehydrated the athletes 15 percent better than those drinking Gatorade and 40 percent better than those drinking plain water (Preidt, 2006). Appropriateness of findings Because the cyclists in the studies were trained and all received the same drinks, I think that the results are inconclusive. Gatorade’s results state that adding protein does not improve performance while Accelerade’s results are not given. Accelerade’s study only states that its sports drinks rehydrate better, but does not address the issue of performance. I think that more research should be done and untrained athletes should be used as well. Because more than just trained athletes consume these beverages, a broader group should be trialed. While the study only addresses those trained cyclists, its results may differ for other athletes. Conclusion When studying the affects of adding protein to sports drinks, one must look at all factors. Factors include age, weight, athleticism, and product consumed. One must also determine if the protein actually increased performance. While Gatorade made a conclusive decision, Accelerade did not. If an athlete was going to make a decision on whether or not to purchase a protein-infused sports drink, he or she would not be able to make a decision based on Accelerade’s research. References: Bennett, J. O. Briggs, W. L. , & Triola, M. F. (2003). Statistical reasoning for everyday life (2nd ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Preidt, R. Health Day News. (Aug 2006). Studies Divided on Value of Adding Protein to Sports Drinks. Retrieved September 4, 2006 from http://www. medicinenet. com/script/main/art. asp? articlekey=63522.