COMPARISON OF ERGOGENIC SUBSTANCE USE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS IN TRAKYA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES STUDENTS

Aims: Ergogenic substances are nutritional supplements that are commonly used as enhancers of physical activity. The aim of this study is to examine the use of ergogenic substances and their relationship with physical activity levels in medical and health science students. Methods: The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was applied to the students of Trakya University School of Medicine and School of Health Sciences, and a survey was used to collect data such as height, weight, gender, chronic disease, and ergogenic substance usage. The survey and questionnaire were conducted online based on voluntary participation. The Shapiro-Wilk, Mann- Whitney U, and Pearson's chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were used to evaluate the results. A total of 196 students, of which 76 were male and 120 were female, participated in this study. Results: Among the 196 students that participated in this study, the average body mass index of the students was 22.4 kg/[m.sup.2]. Protein powder and vitamins were found as the most preferred ergogenic substances by the participants. The metabolic equivalent of task scores were calculated to determine the participants' level of physical activity. Of the participants, 32 (16.3%) were physically inactive, 134 (68.4%) were in the minimally active group, and 30 (15.3%) were in the physically active group. The mean metabolic equivalent of the task score of all participants was 1,765. The average metabolic equivalent of task score of those who used ergogenic substances was found to be significantly higher than the average score of the participants who did not use ergogenic substances. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that physically active students in medical and health science schools may be more prone to using ergogenic substances than physically inactive students. Keywords: Ergogenic substance, medical students, physical activity