Suhas S, Veena A and Asna Urooj*

Department of Studies in Food Science and Nutrition, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysuru, Karnataka, India

*Corresponding Author: Asna Urooj, Department of Studies in Food Science and Nutrition, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysuru, Karnataka, India.

Received: February 24, 2025; Published: March 10, 2025

Abstract

The prevalence of dietary supplement use among youth, especially gym-going men, is well-documented, with protein being the most commonly consumed. Supplements, often referred to as Super foods due to their high nutrient content, and are used to enhance muscle building, fitness, and body composition. While supplements are not considered as drugs, their misuse due to a lack of professional guidance and lack of awareness poses significant health risks. Existing research underscores a gap in exploring the relationship between supplement consumption and BMI levels of gym-goers, especially in India. This study aims to address the research gap in India by examining the impact of supplement consumption on BMI levels among gym-going men in Mysuru, while also investigating their behaviour and prevalence of nutritional supplement use. The cross-sectional study involved purposive sampling of men in the age group of 18-30 years of Mysuru city. Total of 70 subjects (41 consumers and 29 non-consumers) were included after screening over 200 participants from various gyms of Mysuru city. Information on demographic characteristics and supplementation was obtained using a self-structured questionnaire after validation by expert review and pilot study. Measurements were carried using a Stadiometer for height and weight using InBody 770 analyser. BMI classification of participants was based on WHO classification for Asian population. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS 21.0 (IBM Corp.). The data reveals, 58.57% (n = 41) of participants consume supplements, while 41.43 % (n = 29) don’t. Better Performance (80.5%), muscle building (73.2%) are the leading reason for supplements consumption and protein (97.6%) was majorly used supplement a mong the supplement consumers. The Pearson Chi-Square test results (χ² = 1.922, p = 0.588) indicates no statistically significant difference between the BMI distributions of supplement consumers and non-consumers. Most participants had a positive attitude towards supplements with majority of participants consuming with an average of 2.32 supplements per person, primarily for performance and muscle building. Protein was the major and most used, BCAA, Creatine, Fish Oil were other commonly consumed supplements. PEDs were viewed negatively and miniscule usage. Despite widespread use, supplements had no significant impact on nutritional status of consumers among gym-goers

Keywords: BCAA; BMI; Body Building; Gym-Goers; Muscle Gain; PEDs; Protein

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Citation

Citation: Asna Urooj., et al. “Trends and Behaviour towards Supplements Consumption and Its Impact on the Nutritional Status of Gym-goers".Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 9.4 (2025): 27-34.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Asna Urooj., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.