The Use of Nutritional Supplements Among Male Collegiate Athletes

Background: the consumption of nutritional supplements ishigh in various sports, whereas, there are not enough documentssupporting the beneficial effects of supplements in athletes. inaddition, there is no information about taking supplements byiranian students who participate in sports. therefore, the goals ofthis study were to assess the type and prevalence of supplementuse, the frequency of use, and relationships between consumptionand age, body mass index, training load and type of sport.methods: one hundred ninety two male students from “isfahanuniversity of medical sciences” participated in this study,voluntarily. a questionnaire that included questions about typeand effects of supplements, recommendation resources, place ofobtaining, and type of sports were sent to students. descriptivedata were calculated as frequencies (%). chi?square (?2) analysiswas used to analyze the correlation between supplement use andthe study variables.results: forty?five percent of respondents used some formsof supplements. supplement users consumed 14 differentsupplements and each used as many as 1.8 ± 1.2 varioussupplements during the past six months. multivitamins (64%) andvitamin c (42%) were the most popular supplements. students,who participated in individual sports, were more likely to consumedietary supplements (p < 0.05) and ergogenic aids (p < 0.01), but“team sports” athletes, took more recovery nutrients (p < 0.01).fifty seven point five percent of student bought their productsfrom pharmacies, 40% from “sport supplements stores” and 2.5%from their friends.conclusions: it can be concluded that less than half of thesestudents consumed supplements and their information resourceswere inappropriate.