Table 4.
Distribution (%) of the most consumed supplements as a function of sex and level of competition according to the categories defined by the AIS [14].
| Category | Supplement | Total (%) | Sex (%) | Level of Competition (%) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | p | R | N | I | p | ||||
| Group A | Sport Foods | Sports drinks | 60.5 | 64.1 | 50.5 | 0.020 | 57.7 | 70.1 | 47.6 | 0.051 |
| Recovery shakes | 15.7 | 11.6 | 17.2 | 0.199 | 14.6 | 16.5 | 23.8 | 0.524 | ||
| Sports gel | 52.9 | 48.4 | 54.6 | 0.303 | 53.1 | 51.5 | 57.1 | 0.892 | ||
| Sports confectionery | 16.0 | 17.6 | 11.6 | 0.173 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 23.8 | 0.600 | ||
| Sports bars | 66.1 | 65.6 | 67.4 | 0.762 | 66.9 | 64.9 | 61.9 | 0.861 | ||
| Protein bar | 29.1 | 27.9 | 32.6 | 0.381 | 29.7 | 30.9 | 14.3 | 0.296 | ||
| Electrolytes | 28.6 | 29.0 | 27.4 | 0.762 | 25.9 | 32.0 | 42.9 | 0.178 | ||
| Whey protein | 24.9 | 26.7 | 20.0 | 0.195 | 20.1 | 33.0 | 42.9 | 0.007 | ||
| CHO Gainers | 21.8 | 24.8 | 13.7 | 0.025 | 21.3 | 24.7 | 14.3 | 0.545 | ||
| Maltodextrin | 15.7 | 17.9 | 9.5 | 0.052 | 13.4 | 20.6 | 19.0 | 0.233 | ||
| Medical Supplements | Iron | 12.3 | 8.0 | 24.2 | 0.000 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 33.3 | 0.010 | |
| Vitamin D | 10.9 | 10.3 | 12.6 | 0.534 | 8.4 | 14.4 | 23.8 | 0.040 | ||
| Multivitamin | 15.7 | 15.3 | 16.8 | 0.718 | 15.5 | 14.4 | 23.8 | 0.557 | ||
| Performance Supplements | Caffeine | 46.2 | 48.1 | 41.1 | 0.238 | 42.3 | 51.5 | 66.7 | 0.046 | |
| Creatine monohydrate | 19.3 | 20.6 | 15.8 | 0.308 | 14.6 | 29.9 | 23.8 | 0.005 | ||
| Group B | Antioxidants Vitamin C | 13.4 | 13.7 | 12.6 | 0.786 | 11.7 | 17.5 | 14.3 | 0.365 | |
| Collagen | 19.0 | 19.5 | 17.9 | 0.738 | 19.7 | 18.6 | 14.3 | 0.826 | ||
| Group C | BCAA | 25.2 | 28.2 | 16.8 | 0.028 | 21.3 | 36.1 | 19.0 | 0.015 | |
| Glutamine | 10.9 | 12.2 | 7.4 | 0.195 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 4.8 | 0.647 | ||
| Magnesium | 29.1 | 30.2 | 26.3 | 0.481 | 32.6 | 19.6 | 33.3 | 0.053 | ||
M: male; F: female; R: regional; N: national; I: international.