High school athletes and protein supplements
Protein Supplement Users Among High School Athletes Have Misconceptions About Effectiveness. Margaret C. Duellman, Judith M. Lukaszuk, Aimee D. Prawitz, and Jason P. Brandenburg. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22 (4) 2008.
To support protein synthesis (for muscle growth) athletes require more protein than nonathletes. This additional protein need not come from protein supplements, however. "To date, no studies have shown an advantage of ingesting protein supplements over natural, protein-containing foods." Yet, many high school athletes regularly consume protein supplements in an effort to improve speed, strength and agility. Researchers were interested in determining where young athletes were getting this misinformation about the need for protein supplements over dietary sources of protein. Researchers gave 61 high school football players a survey questionnaire and queried them about the sources of information regarding protein supplement consumption. Of the 61 players participating, 39 used protein supplements and 22 did not. Interestingly, the results indicated that those athletes taking supplements had "greater level of misconceptions" than those who did not take protein supplements. The researchers determined that "coaches, parents and friends were the primary source of advice about protein supplements." As a result, the researchers concluded that "it would be valuable to provide nutrition education to these groups concurrently with education to young athletes."
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