Sportsmen’s Attitude towards Dietary Supplements and Nutrition Knowledge: An Investigation in Selected Roman Area Gyms

Nutrients
Q1
Feb 2022
Citations:28
Influential Citations:3
Observational Studies (Human)
83
S2 IconPDF Icon

Enhanced Details

Methods
Cross-sectional study of non-professional gym users aged 20-50 who frequented five fitness centers in Rome and surrounding province. Sample: 581 participants (328 males, 253 females); health status: 91.4% without pathologies; 8.6% with pathologies; 62.7% reported alcohol consumption; 69.5% non-smokers. Data collected February–June 2017 using two validated questionnaires to assess sociodemographics, physical activity, supplement use, and sports nutrition knowledge (NKS).
Results
46.4% reported using food supplements for sport; top supplements were multivitamins (31.0%), amino acid pills (29.5%), minerals (29.1%), and protein powders (28.7%). Primary reasons: increase muscle mass (36.9%) and muscle repair/recovery (35.1%). Gym trainers were the preferred information source, especially among males (84%). Mean NKS score was 18.8/33 (57.1% correct); 47.3% had adequate NKS (≥60%). NKS was higher in males (61.5%) than females (38.5%), and higher among those with higher education (44.5–53%). In multivariate analysis, 87.1% of respondents who performed strength training and followed a gym-trainer–designed sport diet used supplements; among this subgroup, common supplements were proteins/protein bars (77.8%), branched-chain amino acids (63.0%), amino acid pills (59.3%), and caffeine (47.6%). Overall, 63.3% followed a sport-diet; 84.4% of those following a gym-trainer diet and 52.8% of those performing strength training used supplements. BMI >30 kg/m2 and lower education were associated with sport-diet following. Reading labels was common (85.1%). Conclusion: Non-professional gym users generally lack adequate nutrition knowledge, and gym environments do not reliably convey information on dietary supplements; actions are needed to increase nutrition knowledge among gym users and trainers and promote a balanced diet to support athletic goals and minimize supplement misuse.
Limitations
Self-reported data; cross-sectional design; sample limited to five gyms in the Rome area; potential selection and recall biases; not generalizable to other populations or settings; data collected in 2017; some results rely on subset data or are not fully reported.

Abstract

The non-professional sport environment is a grey zone not as widely assessed as that of elite athletes. The purpose of this research was to investigate the dietary supplementation habits and the nutrition knowledge on sport (NKS) in a sample of gym u...