Factors Influencing Dietary Supplements Use Among NCAA Athletes At A United States Service Academy

Zang, Karl; Jaffe, Daniel A.; Hewit, Jennifer K.; Crowder, Todd A.

Factors Influencing Dietary Supplements Use Among NCAA Athletes At A United States Service Academy

Date

2021

Authors

Publisher

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

Abstract

PURPOSE: To identify the key factors that influence the decision to purchase dietary supplements among NCAA athletes at a United States Service Academy METHODS: Through analysis of descriptive statistics, 54 cadets at a United States Service Academy who were active members of NCAA Athletic teams were surveyed on key factors influencing decision to purchase dietary supplements. Survey questions included: ingredients, third party verification, quality of products, and sources of information, to include doctors, coaches, and teammates. A self-administered questionnaire utilizing a Likert scale (1-5) was used, with 1 corresponding to “no influence” and 5 corresponding to “strongly influenced.” Data collection and processing was captured using Microsoft Forms, while Statistica Version 13 was used to calculate the descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 54 cadet-athletes completed the self-administered questionnaire. The top three factors influencing purchasing of dietary supplement were: “free of banned substances” (4.58 ± 0.82), “quality of product” (4.34 ± 0.85), and “ingredients” (4.15 ± 1.20). The three least influential factors regarding purchasing decisions were: “print media” (2.02 ± 1.11), “social media” (2.06 ± 1.29), and “supplement representative” (2.08 ± 1.41). CONCLUSION: As anticipated, “free of banned substances” was the most important factor influencing supplement purchasing decisions among the NCAA athletes. Unanticipated and contradictory to previous research were the findings regarding the limited influence of social media on dietary supplement purchasing decisions among this demographic (18-24 years old). These findings indicate that the participants are performing due diligence regarding dietary supplement purchases and utilization.

Keywords

NCAA Athletes, USMA, Dietary Supplements

Citation

Zang, Karl1; Jaffe, Daniel2; Hewit, Jennifer1; Crowder, Todd1. Factors Influencing Dietary Supplements Use Among NCAA Athletes At A United States Service Academy: 861. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 53(8S):p 286, August 2021. | DOI: 10.1249/01.mss.0000762436.07652.a2