Dietary Habits and Supplements Use among Adolescent Athletes in Alexandria Governorate.

Background: Adolescent athletes need sufficient macronutrients, micronutrients, andhydration to maintain high-intensity training, facilitate recovery, and reduce thelikelihood of injuries. Unfortunately, many young athletes are not adequately informedabout nutrition, resulting in insufficient dietary intake and increasing dependence ondietary supplements to fulfill their nutritional needs Objective: assess the dietaryhabits and supplements-related practices, and safety among the study adolescentAthletes. Settings: The study was carried out in 8 governmental youth centersrepresenting the 8 zones in Alexandria, Egypt. Subjects: A cross sectional study wasconducted on 400 male athlete adolescents aged (15-19) years Tools: four tools wereused. Tool I: “Adolescent athletes structured interview schedule" which includesociodemographic, health status, academic data, and physical activity. Tool II:“Eating habits and supplements use questionnaire "Tool III: “Food FrequencyQuestionnaire (FFQ)"Tool IV: “supplements safety scale" Results: Over half (53%) ofathlete adolescents had abundant carbohydrate intake, while 53% consumedinadequate vegetables. Adequate fruit intake was reported by 54.3%, and 43.8% hadadequate dairy product intake, with 35.3% consuming abundant dairy. Supplement use(41.3%) was significantly associated with carbohydrate and dairy intake (p = 0.001).Energy drinks were used by 45.5%, protein supplements by 29.1%, andvitamins/minerals by 18.2%. Coaches were the main source of supplement information(50.8%), followed by the internet (26.7%). The vast majority of supplements used(98.8%) were considered safe. Conclusion: The majority of adolescent athletes adhereto consistent meal schedules and frequently consume snacks and caffeinated drinks,there are significant deficiencies in their dietary habits—most significant a low intakeof vegetables and a heavy dependence on meat and carbohydrates. The use ofsupplements was prevalent, particularly among athlete adolescents with inadequatecarbohydrate and dairy consumption, suggesting an attempt to compensate nutritionaldeficiencies. Coaches served as the main source of information regardingsupplements, highlighting the necessity for appropriate guidance from certifiedprofessionals. While the vast majority of supplements considered safe.Recommendations: Launch public awareness campaigns to educate athletes, parents,a n d c o a c h e s a b o u t h e a l t h y e a t i n g a n d s a f e s u p p l e m e n t p r a c t i c e s .