الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 86 |  |  |
| | | from | 86 | | |
Abstract
Successful athletic performance is a combination of favorable genetics, desire, proper training, and a sensible approach to nutrition. Athletes attempting to gain a competitive edge will try almost any dietary regimen or artificial means, including nutritional supplements, in the hope of reaching new level of wellness or physical performance.
Athletes use dietary supplements in order to increase energy, maintain strength, enhance performance, maintain health and immune system and prevent nutritional deficiencies. A recent increase in dietary supplements use has been observed in various sports and especially among elite athletes. Global supplement use in athletes is estimated to range from 40% to as high as 88%,with over thirty thousand supplements being commercially-available in the USA.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of dietary supplements among athletes in Alexandria; to describe the pattern of supplements use by athletes, reason for supplementation, to assess dietary pattern and anthropometric status of the athletes and to investigate the relationship between dietary supplements use and body composition of the athletes.
A sample of 200 athletes aged from 16 to 30 years was selected from Smouha club, Sporting club, Gold’s gym and some private gyms in Alexandria using cross sectional approach.
Data was collected from the studied sample using a prestructured interview questionnaire, recording; characteristics of athletes, athletic profile, nutritional practices and food habits and the use of dietary supplements.
Beside, data about anthropometric measurements including weight, height and then body mass index was calculated and body composition.
Dietary intake data was assessed by using food frequency questionnaire. Each participant was asked about times of weekly consumption of the protein rich foods in the previous week.
The present study revealed that, 42% of athletes used dietary supplements. Three quarters of them (75%) were male athletes, more than half of DS users (58.3%) aged 21-25 years old and not working (54.8%), most of them (78.6%) were university educated and non-smokers (94%). Athletes engaged in individual sports were consuming supplements higher than team sports (69%,31% respectively); among individual sports athletes, 25% were playing combat sports followed by 23.8% of users were swimmers while users among team sports athletes (11.9%) were handball players, followed by 10.7% of users were volleyball players.
Use of supplements was higher among athletes who were practicing their sport for more than three years and had high training load.
Assessment of dietary pattern revealed that, the use of supplements was higher among athletes who reported having three meals, with no snacks. The highest percent (41.7%) of supplements users were consuming meat 3-4 times/week, chicken 3-4 times/week (48.8%), fish once/week or less (52.4%), egg daily (36.9%), beans once/week or less (38.1%), milk daily (64.3%), cottage cheese once/week or less (60.7%) and yogurt once/week or less (45.2%).
More than half of supplements users (54.8%) were taking a pre- or post- athletic activity meal. Homemade meal was the commonest type consumed by supplements users (58.7%) followed by fruits (43.5%) and only 2.2% were consuming sweets and candies.
The mean of body fat percent of non-users was slightly higher than supplements users (22.0±6.45 vs. 20.5±6.59 respectively), while the mean of muscle mass percent of supplements users was slightly higher than non-users (42.2±4.42 vs. 41.5±4.25). Yet the difference was not statistically significant.
More than half of supplement users (54.8%) took their advice about supplements intake from their coach and their source of information was from the internet (69%).
Concerning the main perceived reasons for supplementation for both male and female users were to increase endurance (84.1%,and 66.7% respectively) followed to increase strength (84.1%,and 57.1% respectively) andto provide more energy (82.5%,and 66.7% respectively).
from data of present study, the following can be concluded:
• The use of dietary supplements has become very popular and widespread in our community where the prevalence of dietary supplements use was 42% among athletes in Alexandria.
• Male athletes use dietary supplements more than female athletes seeking body image and performance enhancement.
• Use of dietary supplements is higher among athletes aged from 21-25 years.
• Use of dietary supplements is higher among those of higher educational levels.
• Use of dietary supplements is higher among non-smokers than smokers.
• Protein supplement is the most common type of dietary supplements used in male athletes while vitamins and minerals supplement in female athletes.
• Individual athletes especially swimmers and combat sports players are the most frequently dietary supplements users.
• With higher training load or intensity, there is a thought of greater supplementation demand.
• The important role of nutritionists or physicians in sport is often underestimated and athletes most frequently obtain nutrition information from coaches, fellow athletes and internet.
• The majority of athletes take dietary supplements to increase endurance and strength and to provide more energy.
• The highest percent of supplements users were consuming eggs and milk daily while meat and chicken 3-4 times/week.
from the results of the study, we were able to come to the following recommendations:
1. Each athlete should also remember that sport performance is a product of genetics, long-term training, optimal nutrition and several other factors, which cannot be replaced by the use of supplements.
2. Athletes should ensure they have adequate diet before using dietary supplements because the use of supplements does not compensate for poor food choices.
3. Athletes should seek advice from qualified sports nutritionists when planning their nutritional supplementation routine, however, that responses to supplement use may differ between individuals depending on nutritional status, training status and genotype.
4. Supplements should not be used by young (less than 18 years) athletes except where medically indicated.
5. Mass media, which provide easy accessible information, should be controlled for its adequacy and provision of reliable data.
6. Governmental legislation and regulations for monitoring supplement manufacture to ensure freedom from contamination with toxic or prohibited components as a significant number of supplements on the market contain doping agents that are not declared on the label but will cause positive doping and disqualification from competition.
7. There is a need for implementation of an educational program on dietary supplementation for athletes, coaches and any workers in the field of sport.
8. Sports nutrition researches should tackle the important questions that athletes and coaches need to consider to make evidence-based decisions about if and how to use a specific product.