# Supplement Use Among Athletes: Insights from Gyms in Sarajevo
## 3 Results  
Table 1 depicts the sociodemographic and physical characteristics of the participants. The majority were older adults, with 42.3% aged between 36 and 45 years, predominantly male (67.8%), and undergraduates (51.2%). The Body Mass Index (BMI), calculated from self-reported weight and height, predominantly fell within the normal range at 46.9%, with 40.7% of respondents categorized as overweight, and 10.1% categorized as obese. In terms of health conditions, 91.4% of the participants reported no history of illness, whereas 8.6% indicated a history of illness, though the specific types were not detailed. Fur \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Characteristics**} & **Total** & **Supplements** & **Supplements** & \multirow{2}{*}{**\(p\)-Value**} \\  & **Participants** & **Consumers** & & **Non-Consumers** \\  & **(n = 614)** & **(n = 248; 40.4\%)** & **(n = 366; 59.6\%)** & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Gender, \% (n)} \\ \hline Male & 67.8\% (416) & 71.0\% (176) & 65.6\% (240) & \multirow{2}{*}{0.003 b} \\ Female & 32.2\% (198) & 29.0\% (72) & 34.4\% (126) & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Age, \% (n)} \\ \hline
18–25 years old & 34.9\% (214) & 38.7\% (96) & 32.2\% (118) & \multirow{3}{*}{0.001 b} \\
26–35 years old & 22.8\% (140) & 29.0\% (72) & 18.6\% (68) & \\
36–45 years old & 42.3\% (260) & 32.3\% (80) & 49.2\% (180) & \\ Height, cm & 178.33 \(\pm\) 9.42 & 178.37 \(\pm\) 9.12 & 178.30 \(\pm\) 9.63 & \\ Mass, kg & 81.55 \(\pm\) 17.38 & 81.21 \(\pm\) 15.09 & 81.71 \(\pm\) 18.79 & \\ BMI, kg/m\({}^{2}\) & 25.41 \(\pm\) 3.80 & 25.36 \(\pm\) 3.40 & 25.45 \(\pm\) 4.05 & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Educational qualifications, \% (n)} \\ \hline Undergraduate & 51.1\% (314) & 52.4\% (130) & 50.3\% (184) & \multirow{3}{*}{0.602 b} \\ Graduate & 48.8\% (300) & 47.6\% (118) & 49.7\% (182) & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Smoking status, \% (n)} \\ \hline Non-Smoker & 67.8\% (416) & 73.4\% (182) & 63.9\% (234) & \multirow{3}{*}{0.014 b} \\ Smoker & 32.2\% (198) & 26.6\% (66) & 36.1\% (132) & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Gym membership duration, \% (n)} \\ \hline \(<\)1 month & 17.3\% (106) & 5.6\% (14) & 25.1\% (92) & \multirow{3}{*}{0.008 b} \\
1–6 months & 10.7\% (66) & 11.3\% (28) & 10.4\% (38) & \\
6–12 months & 2.0\% (12) & 2.4\% (6) & 1.6\% (6) & \\ \(>\)1 year & 70\% (430) & 80.6\% (200) & 62.8\% (230) & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \(p\)-values (\(p\leq\) 0.05) for group comparisons were assessed by a Mann–Whitney U Test or b Chi-squared.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Participant profiles (mean \(\pm\) standard deviation, percentages). thermore, 65.3% of the participants indicated alcohol consumption, while 67.8% classified themselves as non-smokers. Table 2 reveals that a significant proportion of participants (80.6%) had been involved in regular physical activity for more than one year. The typical frequency of engagement was 3-5 sessions per week (48.4%), with each session lasting between 1 and 2 h (65.3%). Approximately 85% of the sample engaged in strength training. Approximately 30% adhered to a sport-specific diet, while 40.3% implemented a self-prescribed diet, and 21.8% relied on recommendations from a gym trainer. Among the total sample, 40.4% of respondents reported using FS. In this group, the majority were male (71.0%; \(p<0.05\)), primarily from the younger age category (38.7%) consisting of individuals aged between 18 and 25 years. Figure 1 illustrates the types of FS used by the respondents. The most commonly used supplements included magnesium (29.5%), whey protein (27.0%), vitamin C (20.0%), and fish oil pills (17.6%). Table 3 shows a statistically significant gender difference in FS usage patterns, with males (71.0%) consuming supplements more frequently than females (29.0%) (\(p<0.001\)).