The mainstreaming of sports nutrition consumption in the Norwegian food culture

Abstract

In modern Norwegian food culture eating to achieve physical performance and muscular strength is a growing phenomenon. The market for sports nutrition products has increased and a range of new market actors and sales channels have appeared. In this article we will discuss why consumption of such products has become normalised and mainstream. To explore this question we investigate consumer motives and purposes of consuming sports nutrition products. Sport nutrition consumption has become legitimate and mainstream in a cultural climate where living a healthy lifestyle is highly important, where individuals are increasingly held responsible for their own health, and where food is increasingly valued for its nutritional components. We find that the emphasis on the ideal body in close relation with food regulation regimes has set the scene for the growth of the consumption of sports nutrition products. New body ideals of the slim, fit, toned, and healthy body, coupled with the large scale trust placed on authorities and commercial actors such as gyms seem to have paved way for a normalisation and mainstreaming of the consumption of sports nutrition products among Norwegians.