Frequency and Causes of Consuming Sports Supplements and Understanding their Side Effects Among Bodybuilders in Fitness Gyms of Kermanshah City

This study has been carried out in order to investigate the frequency and causes of consuming supplements and understanding the side effects related to their consumption among bodybuilders in Kermanshah City. Methods: The samples of this cross-sectional study include teenagers and young adults who are the members of fitness gyms around Kermanshah City. 244 individuals were selected as samples using simple random sampling. In order to gather the required data, a four-sectioned questionnaire designed by the research team was used. The data analysis was done using chi-square, independent ttest, and Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients by SPSS-20. Results: The majority of bodybuilders participating in the study (95.3%) have used supplements. The sources suggesting the consumption of supplements included other athletes, the coach, the media, nutrition specialists, and medical doctors, respectively. Generally, 37 types of sports supplements are used by the bodybuilders. Based on their rank, the supplements include vitamin C, Creatine, vitamin E, multivitamin, and iron. The most frequent reasons for consuming sports supplements included muscle building, increasing energy, and improving athletic performance. There is a significant difference between male and female athletes with regards to knowing the psychological and sexual side effects of consuming sports supplements (P
Source: Current Nutrition and Food Science - Category: Nutrition Source Type: research