Applying a health literacy lens to youth sport: a focus on doping prevention in Germany

Abstract

There are two camps when it comes to youth in high-performance sports and whether competition is good or destructive. Despite opportunities for positive development, the demands of increasing competitive levels and related situational stressors among young athletes can be a double-edged sword. Doping is becoming increasingly popular and more readily available to the youth sports population. Improving the health of youth in competitive sport requires us to think about health and its determinants in a more sophisticated manner. We share a current initiative in Germany that reflects this broader thinking by integrating ‘education for health literacy’ as one strategy in youth sport settings with regard to doping prevention. Implications and emerging opportunities to take further action for doping prevention and health improvement applicable for German and global contexts are offered.