Dietary Supplement for Athletes or Bodybuilding

Creatine is a dietary supplement that has been popular for more than thirty years amongst athletes and bodybuilders (Feldman 1999: 45). Its alleged benefits include enhancing muscle-building and recovery. The use of dietary supplements, particularly amongst adolescents and young adult athletes has increased in popularity and may even be endorsed by coaches and parents. Creatine is not recommended for young athletes because of questions about the long-term safety of its use, but pressures to 'be the best' have increased as the margin between first-class and second-class athletes grows ever more razor-thin (Dunn et al. 2001).One study found that "62% of adolescent athletes believed supplements improve performance, with 50% consuming dietary supplements" (Dunn et al. 2001). In another study of attitudes of young athletes Dunn (et al. 2001) found widespread acceptance of the use of creatine and belief in its benefits, even amongst athletes who...
[ View Full Essay]