Evaluation of Dietary Supplement Usage, Dietary Intakes, and Nutrition Knowledge in Clinical and Athletic Populations

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dc.contributor.advisorShearer, Jane
dc.contributor.advisorParnell, Jill A.
dc.contributor.authorMadden, Robyn F.
dc.contributor.committeememberReimer, Raylene
dc.contributor.committeememberLegg, David.
dc.dateFall Convocation
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-11T00:32:04Z
dc.date.embargolift2023-02-22
dc.date.issued2022-06-27
dc.description.abstractBackground: Nutrition is a broad scientific discipline under which dietary supplements fall. Dietary supplements can be defined as dietary ingredients intended to achieve a specific health and/or performance outcome. Utilization of dietary supplements differs between clinical and athletic populations; therefore, understanding the types, frequency, and reasons for use is pivotal to avoiding over- or under supplementing. Moreover, assessing dietary intakes and dietary patterns alongside dietary supplements helps ensure nutritional needs are being met. While the consumption of dietary supplements continues to increase, investigation of use, reasons for use, and evidence-based knowledge in support of these products, among many athletic and clinical populations, is lacking. Objective: This dissertation explores numerous nutritional concepts pertaining to para athletes, athletes with a spinal cord injury, and patients with mitochondrial disease. The specific objectives of this thesis are: 1) evaluate dietary intakes and supplement use in Canadian para athletes, 2) investigate dietary supplement use and reasons for use among Canadian wheelchair rugby athletes, 3) assess baseline sports nutrition knowledge levels of athletes with spinal cord injuries and coaches of para sport, and 4) explore dietary supplement use and dietary patterns followed in patients with mitochondrial disease. Methods: Four survey-based, cross-sectional studies were conducted to explore the above objectives. Specifically, 1) dietary intakes and supplement use were assessed in Canadian para athletes using three-day food records and a dietary supplement questionnaire; 2) dietary supplement use and reasons for use among Canadian wheelchair rugby athletes were collected via a dietary supplement questionnaire; 3) the Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire was administered to assess knowledge levels among athletes with spinal cord injuries and coaches of para sport, and 4) dietary supplement use and dietary pattern information were evaluated among patients with mitochondrial disease using an electronic survey. Results: The primary findings from our study objectives were: 1) Canadian para athletes have several micronutrient inadequacies and uninformed use of specific supplements; 2) Canadian wheelchair rugby athletes highly utilize dietary supplements notably for medical and performance purposes; 3) athletes with spinal cord injuries and coaches of para sport demonstrated low-to-moderate sports nutrition knowledge across six nutrition categories, and 4) patients with mitochondrial disease relied heavily on a wide variety of dietary supplements while following specific dietary patterns for clinical symptom management.Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that dietary supplements are highly sought-after products across both clinical and athletic populations. Specifically, types and frequency of dietary supplements are implemented for a variety of reasons, depending on desired outcomes within each individual population. We also demonstrated the need for the development of dietary intake recommendations and evidence-based trials to better understand the effects of specific supplements on athletic performance and clinical disease management. Lastly, it is evident that nutrition knowledge is lacking in para athletic populations, highlighting the need for nutrition education.
dc.identifier.citationMadden, R. F. (2022). Evaluation of Dietary Supplement Usage, Dietary Intakes, and Nutrition Knowledge in Clinical and Athletic Populations (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/115850
dc.identifier.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/40744
dc.language.isoenen
dc.language.isoEnglish
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studiesen
dc.publisher.facultyKinesiology
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en
dc.subjectNutrition
dc.subjectPara Athlete
dc.subjectSpinal Cord Injury
dc.subjectMitochondrial Disease
dc.subjectDietary Supplements
dc.subjectDietary Intakes
dc.subjectNutrition Knowledge
dc.subject.classificationHealth And Environmental Sciences
dc.titleEvaluation of Dietary Supplement Usage, Dietary Intakes, and Nutrition Knowledge in Clinical and Athletic Populations
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineKinesiology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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