I have never doubted the physical-enhancing effects of caffeine. It can really boost performance.
'Ever wonder how many athletes in the Beijing Olympics will be popping caffeine pills or drinking coffee by the bucket?
'Ever wonder how many athletes in the Beijing Olympics will be popping caffeine pills or drinking coffee by the bucket?
Four years ago, ahead of the Athens Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed caffeine from its list of banned substances in sport. This was "presumably because WADA considered (caffeine's) performance-enhancing effects to be insignificant," notes Mark Stuart in a commentary published in the journal BMJ Clinical Evidence.
Stuart, a BMJ editor, has worked with doping control for past Olympic Games and helped train medical staff for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Despite questions about caffeine's effects on athletic prowess, Stuart points out, studies indicate that many athletes still use the stimulant. In a study published last month, for example, researchers found that of 193 UK track-and-field athletes they surveyed, one-third used caffeine to enhance performance -- as did 60 percent of 287 competitive cyclists.
~ Reuters, 28 July 2008
