Aspetar task force bids to ensure safe use of sports supplements

In its first virtual meeting, the safe use of sports nutrition supplements was discussed by a task force recently put together by the Aspetar sports-medicine and orthopaedic hospital. Several important decisions were made, as the group sought to assess the risks of Qatari athletes and sports enthusiasts using such supplements.

The task force's goal is to implement a range of initiatives ahead of the 2022 World Cup that protect and educate footballers and the wider sporting community.

It will review and propose amendments to current practices in the areas of sports-supplement importation and classification, quality-control certification and sale.

Convened by Dr Abdulaziz Jaham Al-Kuwari, the CEO of Aspetar, the committee comprises prominent figures from several fields of sport and healthcare, including: Jasim Al-Buainain, the secretary-general of the Qatar Olympic Committee; Nasser Al-Saad, the director of the Qatar Anti-Doping Commission; Abdul Rahman Al-Dossari, an adviser to the Qatari minister of culture and sports; Dr Aisha Al-Ansari, the director of the Ministry of Public Health’s Pharmacy and Drug Control Department; Shaima Al-Khalidi, the director of Aspetar’s Scientific Support Department; and Daniel Kings, the head of Aspetar’s Scientific Research Department.

Al-Kuwari said: "By an emiri decree that seeks to benefit sport and the health of athletes, Aspetar was established, a hospital which has devoted itself to serving sport in general. One area it is particularly focused on is understanding and improving knowledge and practices related to the use of sports supplements in Qatar. Tasked with improving access to safer sports supplements in Qatar, this commission has been created as part of this drive."

Meanwhile, Al-Buainain said: "As an ex-athlete, I really appreciate this effort and I support it. For professional athletes, this is not an obstacle, as they are all aware of the instructions on the consumption of nutritional supplements. However, it seems this is not the case for the general public."

Al-Dossari added: "The importance of this project is a result of the increase in the users of nutritional supplements, as the number of gyms in Qatar has increased significantly since 2014. There are now more than 500, so there are many amateur enthusiasts who take nutritional supplements, potentially without full knowledge of what they contain or how best to take them."