An investigation into the dietary practices, beliefs and knowledge of protein in resistance training male gym goers between 18-45 years of age.

Abstract

Background- There is an inherent difference between the establishment of dietary protein requirements for the general population of 0.8-0.9g/kg/day (Gandy, 2014), to the requirements of athletes set by the IOC (2016) of 1.8g/kg/day. There is no current guideline for the average gym goer. Methods- This cross-sectional study analysis a sample of non-athlete male gym goers (n=65), ages 18-45 years, who completed a self-administered questionnaire relating to their protein intake, age, level of knowledge, source of information and supplement use while considering their perceptions. Results – The mean protein intake from the participants was 2.48g/kg/day 0.5. Of this, 89% (n=58) reported consuming more than 1.8g/kg/day, recommendations set by the IOC (2016). 88%(n=57) of participants were taking protein supplements at a minimum of 3 times per week, there was a significant difference in protein intake between participants who had high and low protein supplement use, t(63) = -4.050, p = <0.001. r2 = 0.01, only 1% of variance in age accounted for protein intake, 99% is not related to age (r = .109, p = .389). Social media is seen to have a heavy influence on this group, with 55%(n=36) gaining their protein knowledge from the platform and 49.2%(n=32) using it as their source of training, compared to the 15.4%(n=10) who had a university degree in a nutrition related topic. Knowledge seems to have a large part to play as 72%(n=47) of participants felt they was consuming the right amount of protein, although they were consuming over the recommendations. Conclusions- Male gym goers were consuming 2.48g/kg/day 0.53 of protein, exceeding recommendations of 1.2-1.8g/kg/day by the IOC (2016). Knowledge/source of information and level of training did show to affect a person’s intake and their perceptions around protein and supplements.