Nutritional supplement practices of gym trainees in a north indian city

Background: There is an increasing trend for the use of gym supplements in professional and non-professional gym trainees. The documented data supporting the choice and type of gym supplement is not sufficient. Therefore, the goals of this study was to assess the type and prevalence of supplement use, the frequency of use, and relationships between age, gender and type of training. The study also focusses on the commonly associated adverse effects with the use of supplements.
Participants and Methods: This questionnaire based study was conducted across 3 categories of gym in Lucknow city of Uttar Pradesh, India. Total candidates enrolled in the study were 155, the study questionnaire contained 17 questions divided into three parts: first part of the questionnaire focused on the demographic characteristics of the participants, second part focused on the preference and type of supplements used. The third part of the questionnaire gathered the pharmacovigilance data. Descriptive data were calculated as frequencies (%). Chi-square (χ2) analysis was used to analyze the correlation between choice of supplement and type of exercise undertaken.
Results: The response rate of the study was 100%. Most of the participants were males (72.2%) and the higher use of supplement was seen in the age group of 18 to 25 years (29%). Whey protein (41.93%) was the most commonly used supplement and there was a positive correlation between whey protein consumption and strength training (P<0.05). Majority of individuals experienced some sort of adverse effects with the use of gym supplements (63.2%). The most commonly encountered adverse effects were related to GI tract mainly abdominal pain and bloating sensation. Small group of individuals also experienced neuro psychological disturbances.
Conclusion: The study concluded that there is an increasing trend for the use of gym supplements mainly by the youngsters belonging to age group of 18 to 25 years which may be due to the direct impact of the fitness industry.