OBJECTIVES: Dietary supplements are widely used by athletes. Our aim is to map out the knowledge and awareness of gym visiting male athletes regarding the use of sport supplements, and the effects of these products.

METHODS: We used a self-edited questionnaire supplementing the Drive for Muscilarity Scale (DMS) and carried out a body composition examination (OMRON BF 511). The survey and the examination have been done in person with the participation of 117 adult male gym-visitors in Hungary. The evaluation of the cross sectional quantitative data was carried out with SPSSv20 and Excel2010, including descriptives, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, χand ANOVA.

RESULTS: The Skeletal Muscle Percentage (SkM, p<0.001), the body fat percentage (p<0.001) and the age (p=0.013) have a positive effect on the BMI. The consumers of supplementary products argue that they have no harmful effects on the human body and its health (p=0.034). Among those who take supplements we identified higher occurrence of elevated SkM than those who avoid these products (p=0.039). We saw no correlation between exercising other sports and conscious nutrition habits (p=0.918). Men scoring higher on the Muscularity Oriented Body Image Subscale exercise more frequently (p<0.001). We found no correlation between SkM and the muscle-gaining behaviour (p=0.738). Those consuming whey products or energy supplementation try to consume as much calories as they able to (p<0.001), and feel compunction after skipping an exercise (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: The conscious application of dietary supplements, including whey products is effective to elevate the Skleletal Muscle Percentage. Supplementary products are widely used by gym-visitor athletes, but they often find hard to navigate through the information available. They often turn to the internet instead of consulting a dietary professional, therefore they often get false information about the usage and the physiological effects of supplementaries.