USE OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS BY MALE GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLERS

Introduction: Wrestling is a strength sport which requires specialized training exercises successfully combined with an adequate nutritional regime and periods of recovery. Methodology: We surveyed 24 male Greco-Roman-style wrestlers of various weight categories with an average age of 23.2 years and an average sports experience of 10.5 years, performing an average of 9.6 workouts per week. The wrestlers have won prizes at European, World and National Championships. The subjects completed a diet-assessment questionnaire developed by us, which included 28 questions about their weekly consumption of basic food products and questions about age, training experience, the number of training sessions per week, height and weight. They had also completed a questionnaire on their use of nutritional supplements, including 18 questions about the sources of information, resources, the type and amount of vitamins, proteins, amino acids and other supplements. Results: The wrestlers' primary source of information regarding nutritional supplements were their coaches as well as Internet. 67% of subjects used whey protein, which provides an average of 0.42 g of extra protein per kilogram of body weight. Twenty-two of the participants in the survey used amino acids. Fourteen people have indicated the additional use of BCAAs, the rest combined BCAAs with glutamine, other essential or complex amino acids. Certain individual athletes achieved the recommended protein intake only through a balanced diet, even without the use of supplements. For some, however, the intake of BCAAs and creatine was above the recommended. A total of nine of the wrestlers were taking creatine. Multivitamins were taken by 64% of the competitors, and B-complex and vitamin C- by 22% and 7%, respectively. Conclusions: Athletes with a lower than the optimal protein intake for their sport must increase the consumption of foods with high protein content.