An Investigation of Habitual Dietary Supplement Use Among 557 NCAA Division I Athletes. (2nd October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barrack, Michelle T.; Muster, Mark; Nguyen, Jennifer; Rafferty, Aaron; Lisagor, Terri
• Is Part Of: Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 39:Number 7(2020)
• Page Start: 619
• Page End: 627
• Publication Date: 2020-10-02
• Subjects: vitamins -- minerals -- herb/botanicals -- fatty acids -- protein/amino acids; Nutrition -- Periodicals; Nutrition disorders -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2020.1713247
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0731-5724

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Supplements may expose athletes to dangerous ingredients, banned substances, toxins or contaminants; however, few investigations assess use among collegiate athletes in the U.S. Objective: This cross-sectional study evaluated habitual dietary supplement intake, defined use ≥2 days/week over the past year, in NCAA Division I athletes. Methods: Male and female members of a NCAA Division I team, at two universities in southern California completed a 13-item survey. Among 705 eligible participants, 596 submitted surveys (84.5% response rate), 557 surveys included complete data. Chi-square (χ 2 ) analyses evaluated differences among athletes based on sex, weight status, year in college, and sport-type. Independent t-test or ANOVA evaluated mean differences for continuous variables. Results: A total of 45.2% athletes (n = 252) reported taking supplements (≥2 days/week over the past year). Vitamin/minerals (25.5%, n = 142), protein/amino acids (24.6%, n = 137) were used most frequently. Male, vs female athletes, took more supplements overall (1.2 ± 0.1 vs 0.8 ± 0.1, p = 0.004) and indicated higher use of protein/amino acid products (34.2% vs 13.5%, p < 0.005), whereas, females reported higher use of vitamin/minerals (30.5% vs 21.1%, p < 0.05). Higher supplement use was also reported by athletes with BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m 2 (vs <30 kg/m 2, 1.9 ± 0.3 vs 1.0 ± 0.1, p = 0.02), and athletes in ≥ third college year (vs first or second year, 1.2 ± 0.1 vs 0.9 ± 0.1, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Nearly half of NCAA athletes reported habitual supplements use, with significant variation in patterns based on sex, sport-type, year in college, and weight status.