DIETARY SUPPLEMENT USE AMONG RECREATIONAL BODYBUILDERS

Abstract

Introduction, hypothesis: The world of bodybuilding, and with it the use of dietary supplements, is becoming more and more popular every year. In this study, we investigated the amount and type of dietary supplements taken by recreational bodybuilders in relation to gender and age groups. We hypothesized that recreational bodybuilders would use various types of supplements simultaneously and that men would be more likely to use multiple supplements together. We also assumed that the younger generation consumes a higher proportion of dietary supplements than the older generation. We also assumed that the information about the products was not from a controlled source.
Material and methods: Our study was conducted using a self-completed questionnaire on different social media platforms among recreational bodybuilders (men and women) over 18 years of age who have been bodybuilding every week for at least one year. Our results were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square test, and correlation analysis using IBM SPSS 24.0 software. Results were considered significant when p<0.05.
Results: Based on the results of 122 respondents, 79.51% of the respondents regularly consumed dietary supplements, of which more than one-third of consumers did not know how the supplements contributed to their sports performance. Although no significant difference was found between men and women in terms of the number of supplements consumed, the amount of supplements consumed by women decreased with age (r=-0.338; p=0.013). 84.42% of the sample indicated that they obtained information from social media.