The prevalence of use of nutritional supplements in practitioners of different modalities

Abstract

Given the high consumption and the diversity of nutritional supplements available on the market, it is extremely important from the nutritional point of view, the clarification on the consequences of the indiscriminate use of these substances. This studied aim to determine the prevalence of the use of nutritional supplements in different gym modalities and evaluate the most frequently reported reasons for using. The sample was composed by31 individuals of both genders with a mean age of 28.19 years old that practiced physical activity in three different academies in the city of Santa Maria / RS. Subjects answered a questionnaire developed by the authors, consisting of 15 closed questions. In this study, 61.29% of the interviewed were practitioners of bodybuilding, 16.13% practice bodybuilding and running, 9.67% practiced running, 6,45% cross fitand 3,22% practiced spinningor aero-boxe. The most commonly used supplements (51.61%) were proteins (eg. whey protein, albumin, protein bars). Regarding the indication for use of supplements, 41.93% was the own initiative, i.e.self-prescription, followed by an indication by the physical education teacher / personal trainer (9.67%). It is noteworthy that the majority of educational institutions that offer the course in Physical Education donot provide in its curriculum classes on sports nutrition, which disallows physical educators to prescribed diets and supplements for their students. Conducting more work is needed to identify more accurately the consumption of these products by physically active.