Knowledge and attitudes of intern physicians on nutritional ergogenic supplementation and doping

Abstract

Objective: The history of doping in sports goes back thousands of years. It is known that athletes used performance-enhancing agents in ancient games. Nutritional ergogenic supplements are also items that athletes have used for years to increase performance or supplement their missing nutrients. If an ergogenic supplement increases performance above physiological limits, it is prohibited. Increased knowledge of physicians regarding the fight against doping and the use of supplements is important for protecting health of athletes. It is the physician's responsibility to take care of athletes' health, to evaluate performance capacity, to give nutritional advice and to monitor substances being used. In this study, it was aimed to determine the levels of knowledge of intern physicians about nutritional ergogenic supplementation and doping, and to determine their attitudes and the factors affecting their attitudes.

Materials and Methods: Intern physicians who were students in the 2019-2020 academic year were voluntarily enrolled in the study. Participants' 'levels of knowledge about nutritional ergogenic supplementation and doping' were measured. Their attitudes were evaluated with the Nutrition Ergogenic Supplement Attitude Measurement and the Scale of Attitude Towards Use of Doping.

Results: A total of 153 (58 male, 95 female) intern physicians participated in the study voluntarily. It was determined that 31 (20.3%) of the participants had used ergogenic supplements and 2 (1.3%) had used the products within the scope of doping. To the questions about nutritional ergogenic supplements and doping, 60% replied "I have no idea" and 29.9% replied "I have heard."

Conclusion: In this study, the level of knowledge of the intern physicians about nutritional ergogenic supplements and doping was found insufficient. No relation was found between attitudes and the answers given to the questions measuring the level of knowledge. It is necessary to increase the knowledge of physicians in this field.

Cite this article as: Ercan S, Ogul A, Canbulut A, Arslan E, Cetin C. Knowledge and attitudes of intern physicians on nutritional ergogenic supplementation and doping. Turk J Sports Med. 2021;56(2).61-6.; http://dx.doi.org/10.47447/tjsm.0487

*This study was presented as an oral presentation at the Health Services Symposium on the 100^th Anniversary of National Struggle, 21 November 2019, held in Isparta, Turkey.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.