Self-Reported Use and Reasons among the General Population for Using Sports Nutrition Products and Dietary Supplements.

Floris Wardenaar,Renger Witkamp,Marco Mensink,Remko Van Den Dool,Ingrid Ceelen

doi:10.3390/sports4020033

Floris Wardenaar, Renger Witkamp + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/sports4020033

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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.

Highlights

Nutritional supplements such as dietary supplements (DS’s) and sports nutrition products (SNPs) are commonly used by athletes to maximize their performance, to accelerate recovery, to prevent nutrient deficiencies, and to maintain good general health [1,2,3,4]
Of the total study population, 35% reported that they were not engaged in any sporting activity or only 1–11 times a year in the last twelve months and are considered sedentary, while 31% of the population exercised between 12 and 59 times a year
Men, young people, and those exercising most frequently reported the highest use of SNPs

Summary

Introduction

Nutritional supplements such as dietary supplements (DS’s) and sports nutrition products (SNPs) are commonly used by athletes to maximize their performance, to accelerate recovery, to prevent nutrient deficiencies, and to maintain good general health [1,2,3,4]. From a nutritional perspective, it is necessary to include SNPs in dietary analysis Consumers of both DS’s and SNPs may use these preparations with the intention of maintaining good health [5], often unaware of the supporting scientific evidence—or lack thereof [6]. Surveys on dietary supplement consumption by the general population generally focus on the use of multivitamins

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