Prevalence and Patterns of Sport Supplements Use among Gym Attendants and Competitive Athletes in North Cyprus

Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the prevalence, motivation for use, information and purchase sources of supplements among male competitive team sports athletes and recreational gym users in North Cyprus.

Study Design: The sample size was calculated based on the total population size according to the reports obtained from the gyms and the records of the related federations (soccer, basketball, volleyball) of TRNC. For a confidence level of 95 % and a confidence interval of 2.5 %; the required sample size was calculated as 804. The study covered more participants to ensure the statistical power to remain over 80 %. Calculations were performed with G*Power (for Mac Version 3.1.9.3).

Place and Duration of Study: 8 gyms located in 6 different districts in Northern Cyprus between june2020 and July 2020.

Methodology: A structured questionnaire measuring prevalence and patterns of supplements was administered to 902 participants (329 gym attendants, 562 team sports athletes, 18-40 years old, men). Statistical differences between sex, age group and sports participation were done by using a Chi-square analysis. Differences were considered significant at a p-value <0.05.

Results: Overall, 54% of all subjects reported use of dietary supplements, showing a significantly higher percentage among gym attendants (62%) compared to team sport athletes (50%). The most popular dietary supplement among all subjects was protein (46.9%), followed by amino acids (22.6%), multivitamins (20.7%) and creatine (18.8%). Overall, the most important reasons for using supplements were increasing strength (52%), increasing energy (37.6%), insufficient nutrition (32.4%) and increase durability (32.4%). Trainers were the most common source of information for both groups and overall (33.5%), followed by gym friends for the gym attendants and pharmacies for the team sport athletes (30.2%).

Conclusion: The prevalence was higher among the gym attendants compared to competitive athletes. This finding is in conflict with the related literature. It might be explained by the low level of competition and athletic performance in North Cyprus. The most popular source of information was trainers in our study and these findings were in compliance with the related literature.