title: Association between general self-efficacy level and use of dietary supplements in the group of American football players.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increased nutritional demands of athletes should be covered with a variable well-balanced diet, supported by dietary supplements stimulating synthesis of energy, development of muscle mass and strength, and improving physical capacity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to analyze an association between the level of general self-efficacy and dietary supplement use among Polish athletes practicing American football on a competitive basis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included the group of 100 athletes (20-30 years of age, mean 24.27±2.76 years) who practiced American football on a competitive basis. The popularity of various dietary supplements was determined with an original survey, and the level of general self-efficacy with General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) by Schwarzer et al. Statistical analysis, conducted with Statistica 10.0 PL software, included intergroup comparisons with the Chi-square test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Isotonic drinks (74%), vitamin (65%) and mineral supplements (50%) and protein concentrates (53%) turned out to be the most popular ergogenic supplements among the American footballers. The group of less popular supplements included caffeine and/or guarana (44%), joint supporting supplements (40%), BCAA amino acids (39%), creatine (36%), carbohydrate concentrates (30%) and omega-3 fatty acids (30%). Analysis of a relationship between the popularity of ergogenic supplements and general self-efficacy showed that the athletes presenting with lower levels of this trait used multivitamin supplements significantly more often than did the persons characterized by lower self-efficacy levels (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The popularity of some dietary supplements varied depending on the general self-efficacy level of the athletes; the popularity of vitamins was significantly higher among the sportsmen who presented with lower levels of this trait.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine and Human Nutrition, University School of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gacek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005538:Football / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult