Conhecimento sobre nutrição e consumo de suplementos em academias de ginástica de Juiz de Fora, Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: The consumption of food supplements has been gaining prestige among athletes. However, changes in eating habits are less expressive in this population. Objective: To verify the use of food supplements by athlete-users of fitness centers in the city of Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil as well as their knowledge of the basic principles of nutrition. Methods: Cross-sectional study in 19 fitness centers selected using a drawing. The sample included 348 participants over age 18 of both sexes who are users of the selected fitness centers and who agreed to answer a questionnaire containing questions related to sociodemographic data, physical activity, knowledge of nutrition, and use of food supplements. Results: Fifty-five percent of participants said they feel dissatisfied with their weight. When checking participants' background knowledge of nutrition, 41.5% said that micronutrients supply calories, 79% of the sample knew the function of macronutrients, but all respondents were not aware of the main food sources of these macronutrients. According to 66% of respondents, protein is the nutrient that should make up the greatest proportion of the diet. Out of the 54% of participants who use supplements, 43.9% use one supplement, 19.1% use two, 30.5% use three to four and 6.3% use more than four per day. Of this group, 34.2% said they were advised on the use of supplements by a nutritionist, while 31% were advised by a physical educator, followed by other means of receiving recommendations. The most frequently mentioned goal was lean mass gain (58.2%). Conclusion: This study showed high consumption of supplements, body dissatisfaction and misconceptions about basic concepts of nutrition.