Masters Swimmers Use More Dietary Supplements Than a Large National Comparison Population in the United States

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2016 Apr;26(2):123-7. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0043. Epub 2015 Aug 31.

Abstract

The use of dietary supplements was compared between a cohort of committed exercisers, U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) members (n = 1,042), and the general U.S. population, exemplified by respondents to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2009 to 2010 (n = 6,209). USMS swimmers were significantly more likely to take dietary supplements (62%) than the general U.S. adult population, as represented by the NHANES population (37%). Those taking dietary supplements were older, more likely to be female and Caucasian, and more highly educated and affluent than those not taking supplements (p < .001 for all). When adjusted for age, race, gender, annual income, and education, masters swimmers were still more likely (p < .001) to use dietary supplements than the NHANES cohort. In addition, masters swimmers were significantly more likely (p < .001) to use either creatine or dehydroepiandrosterone or testosterone than those in the NHANES cohort.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Athletes*
  • Creatine / administration & dosage
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone / administration & dosage
  • Demography
  • Dietary Supplements / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Swimming*
  • Testosterone / administration & dosage
  • United States

Substances

  • Testosterone
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone
  • Creatine