Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Women athletes are more likely to use iron supplements, while men are more likely to use vitamin E, protein, and creatine.
Women athletes should check their iron status before supplementing, as it is a common choice. Men should evaluate if they actually need protein or creatine based on their diet and training, as these are popular but not universally necessary.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
a larger proportion of women used iron while a larger proportion of men used vitamin E, protein, and creatine.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analysis, but heterogeneity was high and methodological quality low.
Source
Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use by Athletes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Joseph J. Knapik et al. · Sports Medicine · 2015
DOI 10.1007/s40279-015-0387-7
Meta-analysis · 159 studiesCited 425×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Elite athletes use dietary supplements significantly more frequently than non-elite athletes, with no consistent change in overall prevalence over time.Moderate
- The overall prevalence of dietary supplement use among athletes is high, with approximately 60% of athletes using any type of supplement.Moderate
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