•  
  •  
 

ORCID ID

Ettiyappan Thirumurugan: 0000-0003-4638-9050

Kalpana Devi Venkatesan: 0000-0002-5391-8013

Pavithra Tamilmani: 0009-0003-0526-3395

Devika Preetha: 0009-0008-4940-4715

Joyce Albert Princy Mariya Selvanathan: 0009-0008-4767-2943

Dhanyasree Mohandas: 0009-0001-4834-6321

Ameer Basha Sathik: 0009-0005-8221-6191

Santhosh Kumar Manjunathan: 0009-0001-0746-4946

Ashika Kannadhas Sheeba: 0009-0004-1500-0860

Abstract

Background: The increasing sales of sports supplements indicate a concerning trend, as many gym-goers may misuse these products owing to misinformation and insufficient knowledge, potentially impacting their performance. This issue is further compounded by specific gym trainers who may lack comprehensive information and inadvertently influence their clients' choices. To address this concern, the present study evaluated dietary supplement practices and sports nutrition knowledge among regular gym-goers at fitness centers in Chennai, India.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2023 to May 2024 using a validated questionnaire distributed across Chennai, India. A total of 450 participants were included in the final analysis, consisting of individuals aged 20–50 years.

Results: Among the respondents, the primary professionals endorsing dietary supplement use were gym trainers (22.6%), followed by nutritionists (13.1%) and medical doctors (3.9%). Notably, nearly one-third of the respondents reported acquiring these supplements from specialized sports nutrition stores (23.5%), pharmacies (7.8%), and online platforms (27.1%).

Conclusions: The findings indicate that 61% of respondents demonstrated sufficient nutritional knowledge and skills, while the remaining showed inadequate knowledge. Overall, this study underscores the urgent need to educate the public regarding the prudent use of dietary supplements and to implement regulations requiring similar educational initiatives for trainers.

References

  1. Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM, Vernec A. Making decisions about supplement use. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018;28:212–9.
  2. Jovanov P, Đorđić V, Obradović B, Barak O, Pezo L, Marić A, et al. Prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes towards using sports supplements among young athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2019;16:27.
  3. Garthe I, Maughan RJ. Athletes and supplements: Prevalence and perspectives. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018;28:126–38.
  4. Ruano J, Teixeira VH. Prevalence of dietary supplement use by gym members in Portugal and associated factors. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2020;17:11.
  5. Senekal M, Meltzer S, Horne A, Abrey NC, Papenfus L, van der Merwe S, et al. Dietary supplement use in younger and older men exercising at gyms in Cape Town. S Afr J Clin Nutr. 2021;34:22–6.
  6. Caušević D, Ormanović Š, Doder I, Cović N. Analysis of dietary supplements usage among recreational athletes in Canton Sarajevo. Homo Sporticus. 2017;19:19–23.
  7. Nabuco HCG, Rodrigues VB, Barros WMdR, Espinosa FCP, Ravagnani CdFC. Uso de suplementos alimentares entre atletas brasileiros. Rev Nutr. 2017;30:163–73.
  8. Goston JL, Correia MI. Intake of nutritional supplements among people exercising in gyms and influencing factors. Nutrition. 2010;26:604–11.
  9. Druker I, Gesser-Edelsburg A. Identifying and assessing views among physically-active adult gym members in Israel on dietary supplements. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:37.
  10. Mazzilli M, Macaluso F, Zambelli S, Picerno P, Iuliano E. The use of dietary supplements in fitness practitioners: A cross-sectional observation study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:5005.
  11. Mettler S, Bosshard JV, Häring D, Morgan G. High prevalence of supplement intake with a concomitant low information quality among Swiss fitness center users. Nutrients. 2020;12:2595.
  12. Swann JP. The history of efforts to regulate dietary supplements in the USA. Drug Test Anal. 2016;8:271–82.
  13. Tawfik S, El Koofy N, Moawad EMI. Patterns of nutrition and dietary supplements use in young Egyptian athletes: A community-based cross-sectional survey. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0161252.
  14. del Balzo V, Vitiello V, Germani A, Donini LM, Poggiogalle E, Pinto A. A cross-sectional survey on dietary supplement consumption among Italian teenagers. PLoS One. 2014;9:e100508.
  15. Finamore A, Benvenuti L, De Santis A, Cinti S, Rossi L. Sportsmen’s attitude towards dietary supplements and nutrition knowledge: An investigation in selected Roman area gyms. Nutrients. 2022;14:945.
  16. Lohman R, Carr A, Condo D. Nutritional intake in Australian football players: Sports nutrition knowledge and macronutrient and micronutrient intake. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2019;29:289–96.
  17. Devlin BL, Belski R. Exploring general and sports nutrition and food knowledge in elite male Australian athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2015;25:225–32.
  18. Elsahoryi NA, Trakman G, Al Kilani A. General and sports nutrition knowledge among Jordanian adult coaches and athletes: A cross-sectional survey. PLoS One. 2021;16:e0258123.
  19. Elias SSM, Saad HA, Taib MNM, Jamil Z. Effects of sports nutrition education intervention on sports nutrition knowledge, attitude and practice, and dietary intake of Malaysian team sports athletes. Malays J Nutr. 2018;24:103–16.
  20. Trakman GL, Forsyth A, Devlin BL, Belski R. A systematic review of athletes’ and coaches’ nutrition knowledge and reflections on the quality of current nutrition knowledge measures. Nutrients. 2016;8:570.
  21. Denham BE. Athlete information sources about dietary supplements: A review of extant research. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2017;27:325–34.
  22. Whitehouse G, Lawlis T. Protein supplements and adolescent athletes: A pilot study investigating the risk, knowledge, motivations, and prevalence of use. Nutr Diet. 2017;74:509–15.
  23. Van Thuyne W, Van Eenoo P, Delbeke FT. Nutritional supplements: Prevalence of use and contamination with doping agents. Nutr Res Rev. 2006;19:147–58.
  24. Jovanov P, Đorđić V, Obradović B, Barak O, Pezo L, Marić A, et al. Prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes towards using sports supplements among young athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2019;16:27.
  25. Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM, Vernec A. Making decisions about supplement use. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018;28:212–9.
  26. Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n160.
  27. Stough C, Scholey A, Gentile-Rapinett G, Schmidt J, Goh A, Wesnes K, et al. An evaluation of the cognitive effects of malt extract and sucrose in school-aged Malaysian children. Bioact Compd Health Dis. 2020;3:179–93.
  28. Heidorn CE, Dykstra BJ, Conner CA, Mahon AD. Carbohydrate drink use during 30 minutes of variable-intensity exercise has no effect on exercise performance in premenarchal girls. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2021;33:65–9.
  29. López-Samanes Á, Gómez Parra A, Moreno-Pérez V, Courel-Ibáñez J. Does acute beetroot juice supplementation improve neuromuscular performance and match activity in young basketball players? A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Nutrients. 2020;12:188.
  30. Mettler S, Lehner G, Morgan G. Widespread supplement intake and use of poor quality information in elite adolescent Swiss athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2022;32:41–8.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.