Prevalence of Dietary Supplements Use among Gymnasium Users

Hindawi Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism Volume 2017, Article ID 9219361, 8 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/9219361 Research Article Prevalence of Dietary Supplements Use among Gymnasium Users Ayman H. Jawadi,1 Abdulmalik M. Addar,2 Abdulaziz S. Alazzam,2 Fahad O. Alrabieah,2 Abdullah S. Al Alsheikh,2 Roaa R. Amer,2 Al Anoud S. Aldrees,2 Maha A. Al Turki,1 Ali K. Osman,1 and Motasim Badri3 1 College of Applied Medical Sciences, KSAU-HS, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia College of Medicine, KSAU-HS, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 3 College of Public Health and Health Information, KSAU-HS, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 Correspondence should be addressed to Ayman H. Jawadi; Received 16 November 2016; Revised 24 February 2017; Accepted 21 March 2017; Published 5 April 2017 Academic Editor: J. B. German Copyright © 2017 Ayman H. Jawadi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Several studies showed that regular gymnasium users use various dietary supplements without comprehension of their potential risks. Objective. To determine the prevalence and dietary supplement intake and assess the awareness of supplement use among regular gymnasium users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among regular gymnasium users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April 2015 and June 2015. A validated structured questionnaire was used. Results. The study included 299 participants. Of these 113 (37.8%) were dietary supplements users and this was more common among males than females (44.7% versus 16.4%). Gender based analysis showed that males were exercising more frequently than females and the type of cardiovascular exercise was more among them. The most commonly used supplements were whey protein (22.1%), amino acids (16.8%), multivitamins (16.8%), creatine (11.5%), and omega 3 (11.5%). The reasons for taking dietary supplements were to improve body shape (47.7%), increase health (44.2%), and improve performance (41.5%). Conclusion. Most of the information about supplements was obtained from unreliable sources. More studies are needed to better understand supplements use and their impact on health in Saudi Arabia. 1. Introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an expanding population in which the young constitute the majority, with an increasing number of people attending athletic activities and easy access to dietary supplements [1]. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act defines dietary supplements as “any product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet that contains one or more dietary ingredients.” They embrace diet fortifying nutritional elements such as herbs, vitamins, meal supplements, and nutritional athletic merchandise midst others [2–4]. According to the United States of America Food and Drug Administration (FDA) any product labeled as a “supplement” means that its contents and the claims on the label have not been approved or evaluated by the FDA [5, 6]. It is well documented that the use of some of these products may lead to serious health injury [7]. The regular gymnasium users are at risk resulting from taking various categories of nutritional supplements intended for athletic improvement [8]. Popularity of these supplements along with their easy access makes us question their consumption among regular gymnasium users, who engage in sports for pleasure and not monetary gain or professional benefits, in Saudi Arabia. There was only one research discussing supplement use among professional athletic football players in Saudi Arabia that included 105 athletes of whom 93.3% were using dietary supplements, that is, sports drinks 88.7%, vitamin C 82.6%, multivitamins 52%, omega 6 18.6%, creatine 16.3%, and Ginkgo biloba 10.2%. The majority of participants reported improvement of health and performance as the main reason 2 for using dietary supplements [2]. However, there is no data addressing this issue in nonprofessional athlete in Saudi Arabia. In Beirut, Lebanon, 36.3% of gymnasium users were reported to use supplements [9]. Dietary supplements are used for different intentions such as building muscles, better health, and improving performance. Some studies have shown that people have different opinions about the use of dietary supplements [10]. Supplement users have different sources of information about the supplements they are taking. Studies from Lebanon and Iran reported that coaches are the main source of information about dietary supplements among users [9, 11]. This research is carried out to shed light on nonprofessional use of dietary supplements among both genders in Saudi Arabia. Since there is no data available regarding this issue of the regular gym exercises supplement use, it is crucial to address this important topic. 2. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 2015 to June 2015. A pilot study was conducted and showed that 17/51 = 33.3% of the respondents were using supplements. Therefore, at 80% power and 95% confidence level, the required sample size was calculated to be 342∼350 participants. However, due to the difficulty of participant recruitment only 299 participants’ responses were collected. This is mainly due to difficulty faced in getting consent of female health centers. Culturally it is not acceptable to disturb or break trainer’s confidentiality. Thus, the major health centers in Riyadh were identified and those ones who were willing to participate in the study were visited. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Subjects interviewed had to be gymnasium users, who engage in sports for pleasure and not monetary gain or professional benefits. Both males and females aged between 18 and 45 years being in Riyadh at the time of the study were included. Professional athletes (a person who takes sports as their main monetary gain), coaches, abusive drug users, and participants below 18 years of age or over 45 years were all excluded. All participants signed a formal consent after being informed about the objectives of the study. The Ethics Committee of King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre approved the study. An individual interview questionnaire which was previously tested in a pilot study and final version was used to collect information about demographic and socioeconomic data, lifestyle, type of supplements, measuring blood pressure, frequency, sources of information, and beliefs regarding supplements use. Finally, anthropometric parameters weight (Kg) and heights (Cm) were taken and then Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated to assess physical status. Anthropometric measurements and demographic data were collected to explore the possibility of association between the consumption of dietary supplements and these parameters (...truncated)