VITAMIN MINERAL SUPPLEMENT USE AMONG ATHLETES - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Vitamin/mineral supplements are often used by athletes as ergogenic ai ds to improve performance. This paper reviews studies of the prevalenc e, patterns, and explanations for vitamin/mineral supplement use among athletes. Fifty-one studies provided quantitative prevalence data on 10,274 male and female athletes at several levels of athletic particip ation in over 15 sports. The overall mean prevalence of athletes' supp lement use was 46%. Most studies reported that over half of the athlet es used supplements (range 6% to 100%), and the larger investigations found lower prevalence levels. Elite athletes used supplements more th an college or high school athletes. Women used supplements more often than men. Varying patterns existed by sport. Athletes appear to use su pplements more than the general population, and some take high doses t hat may lead to nutritional problems. Sport nutritionists should inclu de a vitamin/mineral supplement history as part of their dietary asses sment so they can educate athletes about vitamin/mineral supplements a nd athletic performance.