Objective: Despite widespread drug testing in sports and warnings about the potential risks of using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), non-medical use is prevalent among athletes, non-athletes, and disturbingly among adolescents. To date, most research has focused on the anabolic properties and short-term health risks of AAS use. In contrast, studies investigating the effects on cognitive function in men using high doses of multiple exogenous steroids are lacking. The primary purpose of this naturalistic study was to examine the effects of non-medical steroid use on sex-related cognitive abilities in male bodybuilders. The secondary purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychological functioning of male bodybuilders who use AASs. Methods: Eight male bodybuilders who used high doses of AASs were matched with bodybuilding and aerobic controls who had never used AASs, according to age, education, and estimated verbal intelligence. AAS use of the bodybuilders appeared similar to reports in the literature of self-administered AASs regimens used by strength athletes. All groups underwent a battery of cognitive tests and self-report psychological inventories, and had serum total testosterone and binding proteins measured immediately after testing. Cognitive measures selected were those that have previously shown sex differences. The study examined four psychological domains: aggression, personality, body image, and eating-disordered attitudes/behaviours. Results: Male bodybuilders who used AASs scored significantly lower than controls on mental rotations and on the WAIS-III Digit-Symbol Coding subtest. There were no other significant group differences on the cognitive tasks. A curvilinear (inverted U) relationship was identified between spatial ability and total testosterone in men who did not use AASs. As there were only a few AAS users in the current study, there was little power to demonstrate a linear or nonlinear relationship. Overall, there were no significant differences between groups on the psychological variables. AAS users exhibited elevated levels of antisocial personality traits, with 38% scoring in the clinically significant range. Bodybuilders reported some body weight concerns, specifically a drive for muscularity combined with a drive for a well-toned body, with no difference between AAS users and bodybuilding controls. Three AAS users and one bodybuilding control exhibited psychological disturbances, as evidenced by elevated scores on multiple psychological measures. Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study provide some evidence that high doses of AASs in men might influence certain aspects of cognition, specifically reducing complex visuospatial skills and perceptual speed. The data also suggests that endogenous testosterone influences spatial ability in healthy men in a curvilinear fashion. Further research with larger samples of AAS users is required to quantify the cognitive effects of non-medical AAS regimens. The study also contributes to the growing literature on the psychological effects of bodybuilding and AAS use. Although many AAS users and bodybuilders might display minimal psychopathology, there is likely a subgroup of individuals who exhibit clinically significant psychological disturbances. Further research is necessary to identity the nature and severity of psychological symptomatology in this population, and effective modes of treatment.

Orientador: Maria Aparecida Azevedo Pereira da Silva / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T23:35:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Siqueira_AdrianaCamurcaPontes_D.pdf: 1439498 bytes, checksum: 895ed0eefcd5d01f4f23d10f2f49dcde (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Este estudo teve por objetivos: i) avaliar as crenças e atitudes de homens que praticam musculação sobre substâncias ergogênicas; ii) desenvolver e validar uma escala de atitude sobre substâncias ergogênicas para homens que praticam musculação; iii) determinar a prevalência do consumo de ergogênicos na referida população; iv) estudar a imagem corporal desses indivíduos e, v) correlacionar a atitude dos citados indivíduos sobre substâncias ergogênicas com a imagem corporal e o consumo de ergogênicos dos mesmos. Participaram do estudo 100 homens praticantes de musculação, com idades entre 18 e 46 anos. Para avaliar o consumo de ergogênicos, os voluntários responderam a um questionário estruturado, auto-aplicado e anônimo. O desenvolvimento dos itens da escala de atitude sobre ergogênicos foi realizado através de entrevista com 25 indivíduos da população estudada. Na sequência, uma amostra de 100 indivíduos expressou seu grau de concordância a cada item através de uma escala estruturada de 7 pontos (1 = discordo muito; 7 = concordo muito). Para validar a escala desenvolvida foram utilizadas as seguintes metodologias: teste-reteste, consistência Interna e validade de construção. Os construtos de natureza similar aplicados foram: ¿Escala da Catexe Corporal¿, dismorfia muscular diagnosticada através de índices de proporcionalidade antropométrica (B/P), e questionário de dependência de exercício. Adicionalmente o consumo de ergogênicos foi também correlacionado com a atitude dos indivíduos. Os dados foram avaliados através de coeficiente de correlação de Pearson (r), a-Cronbach, ANOVA, Tukey, Wilcoxon ranksum test e Análise de Componentes Principais (ACP). A análise dos dados revelou que 68% dos entrevistados consumiam ergogênicos. Os consumidores tinham em média 27 anos, eram solteiros (82%), sem filhos (88%), possuíam curso superior (62%), e trabalhavam (78%). O consumo médio de ergogênicos foi igual a 3 ergogênicos/indivíduo e a maioria (62%) consumia os ergogênicos diariamente. Os ergogênicos mais consumidos eram os suplementos de proteína (65%), os carboidratos (50%) e os suplementos de aminoácidos (43%). Faziam uso de anabolizantes e estimulantes proibidos no Brasil 10% e 9% dos indivíduos, respectivamente. Os principais motivos para o uso dessas substâncias foram: ¿aumentar a massa muscular¿ e ¿garantir a performance esportiva¿. Apenas 3 % dos indivíduos recebiam orientação médica e 12%, de nutricionista. Uma escala de atitude sobre ergogênicos contendo 22 itens foi desenvolvida e validada. O coeficiente de Cronbach do questionário foi igual a 0,80, garantindo a confiabilidade interna do instrumento. Da mesma forma, o teste-reteste (1 mês) revelou alto grau de correlação entre as duas aplicações do questionário (r = 0,756; p<0,0001), indicando boa reprodutibilidade da escala. Alto grau de correlação foi encontrado entre: consumo de ergogênicos vs. atitude sobre ergogênicos (r = 0,515; p = 0,0007); índices de proporcionalidade antropométrica (B/P) vs. os escores da escala de atitude (r= 0,515; p=0,0007) e índices de proporcionalidade antropométrica (B/P) vs. consumo de ergogênicos (r = 0,690; p<0,0001), garantindo validade de construção à escala desenvolvida. Entre as crenças que melhor segmentaram os grupos destacaram-se: ¿praticantes de musculação devem usar suplementos proteicos¿ (p=0,002); ¿tomando suplementos proteicos consigo acelerar meus resultados na musculação¿ (p=0,014). A ACP dos dados gerados através da escala revelou 7 componentes com autovalores maiores que 1, explicando 59% da variância entre os escores gerados pelos indivíduos. Tanto os consumidores (95%) como os não consumidores de ergogênicos (100%) apresentaram alto grau de satisfação corporal, consequentemente, baixa correlação (r= - 0,284 p= 0,076) foi verificada entre catexe corporal e atitude com relação aos ergogênicos. Alta proporção (80%) dos praticantes de musculação consumidores de ergogênicos foi classificada com suspeita de apresentar dismorfia muscular. Finalmente, dependência de exercício foi detectada tanto entre os consumidores (30%), como entre os não consumidores de ergogênicos (15%). As informações e instrumento desenvolvido nesta pesquisa fornecem subsídios para o planejamento de programas educacionais sobre substâncias ergogênicas a serem implantados em escolas do Brasil / Abstract: This study aimed: i) to assess the beliefs and attitudes of male bodybuilders on ergogenic substances, ii) to develop and to validate a scale of attitude on ergogenic substances for male bodybuilders, iii) to determine the prevalence of consumption of ergogenics substances in the mentioned population, iv) to assess the body image of the cited men, v) to investigate the correlation between attitude towards ergogenics and both the subjects¿ body image and the substances consumption. Participated on the study 100 men, aging between 18 to 46 years, which practiced bodybuilding. To evaluate their consumption of ergogenics, volunteers answered a structured, self-applied and anonymous questionnaire. The development of the items of the attitude scale on ergogenics was carried through interviews with 25 individuals of the studied population. In the sequence, a sample of 100 individuals expressed their degree of egreement/disagreemente to each item using a structured scale of 7 points (1 = very disagree, 7 = very agree). To validate the scale developed the following methodologies were used: test-retest, internal consistency and construct validity. The similar constructs applied were: Body Cathexis Scale, anthropometric indices of proportionality (B/P), an indicator of muscle dysmorphia, and a questionnaire of exercise dependence. Additionally the consumption of ergogenics also was correlated with the attitude of the individuals. The data were evaluated through of the Pearson¿s (r) and a-Cronbach coefficients, ANOVA, Tukey, Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Principal components analysis (PCA). An analysis of the data revealed that 68% of interviewers were using of ergogenics. The consumers of ergogenics were on average 27 years old, single (82%), did not have children (88%), possessed high education (62%) and job (78%). The average consumption of ergogenics was equal to 3 ergogenics/individual; the majority (62%) consumed the ergogenics daily. The most consumed ergogenics were protein supplements (65%), carbohydrates (50%) and supplements of amino acids (43%). Approximately 10% and 9% of the men, respectively, were using anabolic steroids and stimulants banned in Brazil. The main reasons for using those substances were: "increase muscle mass" and "ensure sports performance". Only 3% of individuals received medical and 12% nutritionist supervision for the use of ergogenics. A scale of bodybuilders¿ attitudes and beliefs towards ergogenics, containing 22 items, was developed and validated. The a-Cronbach coefficient was equal to 0.80, ensuring adequate internal reliability to the scale. Similarly, the test-retest (1 month) showed high correlation between the two applications of the questionnaire (r = 0.756, p < 0.0001). This indicates that the developed scale presents good reproducibility. High correlation was found between: consumption of ergogenics vs attitude on ergogenics substances (r = 0.515, p = 0.0007); anthropometric indices of proportionality (B/P) vs attitude on ergogenics substances (r = 0.515, p = 0.0007) and anthropometric indices of proportionality (B/P) vs consumption of ergogenics (r = 0.690, p < 0.0001), ensuring construct validity to the scale developed in this research. Amongst the beliefs that most segmented the groups were: "bodybuilders should use protein supplements¿ (p = 0.002); and "taking protein supplements I can speed up my bodybuilding results" (p = 0.014). The PCA of the data obtained through the proposed scale generated 7 components showing eigenvalues greater than 1.0, explaining 59% of the variance among the individuals score. Both segments of bodybuilders, consumers of ergogenic (95%) and non-consumers (100%), showed high overall body satisfaction. As a consequence, low correlation (r = - 0.284 p = 0.076) was verified between the scores generated by the Body Cathexis Scale and the scores generated by the ergogenic attitude scale. High proportions (80%) of bodybuilders who consumed ergogenics were classified as suspects of presenting muscle dysmorphia. Finally, dependence of exercises was detected among consumers (30%) and non-consumers of ergogenics (15%). The information and instrument developed in this research provide subsidies to the preparation of educational programs on ergogenics to be implemented in Brazilian schools / Doutorado / Consumo e Qualidade de Alimentos / Doutor em Alimentos e Nutrição

Thesis (M. Sc. (Dietectics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Introduction: Bodybuilders around Polokwane municipality are adhering to different dietary practices some of which are not evidence based. These practices may predispose these athletes to negative health outcomes sooner or later in life. The aim of this study was to investigate the anthropometric status and dietary intake of bodybuilders around Polokwane Municipality. Methodology: This was a descriptive analytical study where purposive sampling method was used to obtain 51 out of 65 registered bodybuilders within the training gyms around Polokwane. Weight and Height were measured to determine BMI. Four skinfold sites (triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailliac) were measured using caliper and non-stretchable tape to estimate total body fat percentage. Dietary information was collected using the 24 hour-recall collected for three different days which was validated by the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: of the 51 body builders, 94.1% were men and 5.8% women. Few athletes (15.7%) were using ergogenic agents such as powders (13.7%) and tablets (2%). Also, 64.7% of the athletes had normal body weight while 33.3% and 2.0% were overweight and obese respectively. Majority of the athletes (78.4%) had an acceptable body fat percentage. Dietary results showed that majority of the athletes consumed energy (98%) and carbohydrates (100%) below the ISSN bodybuilding recommendations. Conclusion: The dietary intake of the bodybuilding athletes around Polokwane municipality is below the ISSN (2010) bodybuilding recommendations; however, their anthropometric status and body composition is normal.

Det övergripande syftet med denna uppsats är att vidga kunskapen om ett relativt utforskade ämne, nämligen genus inom fältet styrketräning. Detta undersöks genom analysera bilder på vältränade människor med rådande teorier inom ämnet för att på så vis bidra till ny kunskap. Mer specifikt så är syftet med denna studie att undersöka hur föreställningen om manligt respektive kvinnligt reproduceras i form av bilder på två webbsidor som behandlar styrketräning. De olika typer av bilder som återfinns på hemsidorna präglas av tydliga genusskillnader som på ett extremt sätt framhäver männens makt över kvinnorna genom att porträttera dem på både tydliga och mer subtila sätt vilket har lyfts fram i analysen. Genom att belysa dessa aspekter så har ett relativt outforskat område nu fått en mer nyanserad och genomskinlig bild genom att rikta ljus på hur genus skapas genom bilder i fältet för styrketräning. Frågor som uppsatsen ställer sig är: Hur framställs genus i bild på kvinnor respektive män som i varierande grad utövar styrketräning och kroppsbyggning på utvalda webbsidor? Vilka olika typer av bilder av kroppen återfinns på webbsidorna? Hur framställs de och vilka skillnader finns mellan könen vad gäller dessa bilder? Analysen av bilder på två olika nätsidor som riktar sig till kvinnor och män som styrketränar visar att det verkar finnas ett större behov av att skilja män och kvinnor åt i just styrketräningssammanhang, detta eftersom kvinnan här närmar sig vad som anses vara männens sfär.