Profile and consumption of nutritional supplements of physical exercise practitioners in gyms

Abstract

Introduction: the habit of exercising in fitness centers has grown noticeably in the adult population. This behavior is changing eating habits and increasing the consumption of Dietary Supplements to achieve objectives efficiently and effectively, however often this consumption is done indiscriminately and without professional supervision, leading to health risks. Objective: verifying the profile and consumption of Dietary Supplements habits of adults who regularly exercise at fitness centers. Methods: cross-sectional study conducted in 15 randomly selected fitness centers. The sample consisted of 302 adult participants of both sexes of different age groups that agreed to answer a semi-structured questionnaire including sociodemographic data, physical exercise habits, and consumption of Dietary Supplements. Results: of the participants, 70.5% are males 30 years old or younger and 58% of the total had a college degree. When checking physical exercise behavior, 46% exercise in order to achieve muscle hypertrophy, 78% of both sexes train with weights, 53% performed exercises most days of the week, and 56% exercised for an hour and a half each session. 58.5% of the sample makes use of Dietary Supplements; the most commonly used for muscle mass increase were whey protein (53%) and energy stocks (46.7%). 70% self-prescribe and 30% visit a nutritionist or other health professionals. Conclusion: the study population is composed mostly of young-adult men with higher education who exercise for aesthetic reasons; therefore, they favor a large volume of exercises every week and use Dietary Supplements without monitoring from a nutritionist.