Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dietary Supplement Use among Young Athletes in Malaysia

Background/Aims: Despite the concerns for dietary supplement (DS) use to result in doping infringements, little is known on the prevalence of DS use among athletes at grassroots level. This study examined the knowledge, attitude and practice of DS use among developmental athletes aged 16 to 21 years from sports institutes in Malaysia. Methods: A paper questionnaire was administered to collect information on sociodemographic and training background, knowledge, attitude and current use of supplements. A total of 936 athletes (60.2% males) aged 18.4 ± 1.5 years from strength and endurance, aquatic, team, skill, racket and combat sport categories with complete data were included in the analysis. Knowledge and attitude were scored from 0–100. Results: Over two-thirds (70.2%) of athletes used an average of 1.2 ± 1.0 types of DS in the previous six months, mainly in the forms of sports food and beverages (50.5%), vitamin and minerals (29.2%) and protein supplements (20.3%). Prevalence of DS use was associated with sex, ethnicity, level of education and sports category (p < 0.05). The mean knowledge was 30.4 ± 18.9, while DS users scored significantly higher than non-users (32.2 ± 19.2 vs. 26.3 ± 17.5). The average attitude score was 65.3 ± 6.2. Conclusion: Although DS use was highly prevalent, the knowledge and attitude toward DS was considered low in this large sample of developmental athletes. The findings suggest the need to educate on appropriate use of DS in sports among young athletes in Malaysia.