KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS IN DIFFERENT DANCE DISCIPLINES

Abstract

In aesthetic sports the appearance of the body figure and its leanness plays an important role, therefore energy intake is often barely sufficient. By limiting the amount of food consumed, there are specific deficits that affect the health and performance of the dancer. The use of dietary supplements often compensates for the lack of nutrient intake and enables faster regeneration. Our study aimed to analyse the knowledge about nutrition and nutritional supplements in male and female dancers of four different dance disciplines: hip hop, Latin American and standard dances, acrobatic rock and roll, and breakdance. The sample consisted of 98 dancers (av. 18.8 years), who were compared by gender and by their involvement in the dance discipline. Their average length of dance career is 9.7 years. We found that dancers have an average knowledge about nutrition and nutritional supplements (5.1/10). Dancers put the most trust in physicians and trainers when it comes to nutrition knowledge. Dancers gather information about nutrition supplements mostly from the coaches or from teachers at school, and some dancers also independently, through the internet and literature. Less than half of the female dancers do not use nutritional supplements. Most of them consume energy bars and vitamin-mineral supplements. Male dancers regularly consume vitamin-mineral supplements (26.7%), occasionally more energy-efficient bars (42%) and isotonics (26.6%). Representatives of different dance disciplines do not differ significantly in the knowledge and use of nutritional supplements. Rock and roll dancers have the highest average rating in nutritional knowledge (5.3/10).