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Many sports supplements have no trace of their key ingredients

Seven products also have at least one compound prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration

A photo of a person's hands cupped around a pile of multicolored pills.

Sports supplements, which sometimes claim to burn fat or improve performance, may not actually contain the ingredients advertised.

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By Meghan Rosen

Fat incinerator. Metabolism booster. Thermo activator. Some over-the-counter sports supplements advertise ingredients with purported performance-enhancing properties, but it’s anyone’s guess what’s really in that pill or powder.

Just 11 percent of nearly 60 tested dietary supplements actually contain an accurate amount of key ingredients listed on the label, scientists report July 17 in JAMA Network Open.