Abstract

Nutrient supplements are often used by athletes as ergogenic aids. This study was done to investigate the use of nutrient supplements, nutritional knowledge and nutrient intakes of athletes. Subjects of this survey consisted of 195 national team athletes. The prevalence of nutrient supplement use among all subjects was 30.3%, and the frequency of use, by decreasing order, was weight lifting, taekwondo and badminton athletes. Sport drinks were the type of nutrition supplement used most frequently and vitamin C was the second one. Major reasons for nutrient supplement use were to improve training performance and to recover from fatigue, to supplement fluid and to control weight. The average score of nutritional knowledge was 19.9+/-2.5 for nutrient supplement users, and 19.8+/-3.6 for nutrient supplement nonusers. Intakes of protein, calcium and niacin of the user were higher than those of the nonuser. This information provided by this study can help sport nutritionists identify nutrient supplement most often consumed by national elite athletes and can aid counselors as they guide athletes towards more healthful nutrition practices.

• Keywords: nutrient supplements; national team athletes; nutritional knowledge; nutrient intakes