Evaluation of the Prevalence of Dietary Supplements and Weight Loss Drugs Usage by Recreational Athletes in Fars, Iran

Several studies have investigated supplement and drug use prevalence among elite athletes. However, nonelite athletes who exercise in gyms to improve their health and appearance have received less attention. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of supplement use in recreational athletes in Fars, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 256 recreational athletes (165 men and 91 women, mean age 28.67±7.28) completed the questionnaire (researcher-made), and the differential validity was estimated by the comparison of novice and elite athletes using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Moreover, the reliability of the instrument was confirmed based on internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and stability (repeatability) using test-retest (correlationcoefficient of the test scores). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. In this study, 84% of the participants used various supplements, and 54% consumed performance-enhancing and occasional drugs. The most common supplements were multivitamins (77.7%), protein powders (69.1%), fish oil (47.9%), and vitamin D (39.9%). According to the findings, 46.8% of the subjects consumed supplements to improve their physical appearance, while 21.8% used these substances to enhance their health. Meanwhile, 62.2% of the athletes considered themselves fit (not obese/lean), while 31.1% and 33.3% tended to lose weight and slightly gain weight, respectively. According to the results, the rate of consuming supplements, weight loss drugs, occasional drugs, and performance-enhancing drugs was high in the recreational athletes in Fars province, which indicated the necessity of more control and attention to the prevention of excess supplement use and raising awareness in this regard.