Self-reported use and reasons among the general population for using sports nutrition products and dietary supplements

Floris Wardenaar, Remko van den Dool, Ingrid Ceelen, Renger Witkamp, Marco Mensink

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of dietary supplements (DS’s) and sport nutrition product (SNPs) among the general population, to identify differences for gender, age, and exercise frequency, and to determine the main reasons for use. The study was designed as a web-based questionnaire in a representative sample (n = 1544) of the Dutch population. Sixty-two percent (n = 957) of the respondents reported having used DS’s, SNPs, or both in the last twelve months. Women and older people reported the highest DS use. The highest use of SNPs was reported by regular exercising men and younger people with improving sporting performance as their main objective. Most frequently reported DS’s were multivitamins (28%) and vitamin C (19%)—for SNPs, energy drinks (22%) and isotonic drinks (19%). Health considerations were the most important motivation (DS’s 90% and SNPs 52%), but also performance was substantially reported (DS’s 14% and SNPs 35%). A substantial group of sedentary respondents also reported the use of SNPs. This study confirms that DS’s, SNPs, or both are widely used among the general population. Both health as performance are important reasons for use. It can be questioned whether the use of SNPs fits all respondents’ physical activity needs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number33
JournalSports
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Exercise
  • Health
  • Nutritional supplements
  • Performance
  • Sports dietetics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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