Dietary Practices and Supplement Use Among CrossFit Participants

BACKGROUND: CrossFit is a popular high-intensity functional training program. CrossFit participants may follow popular diets or consume dietary and sports supplements to support their health or physical pursuits, but the specific dietary and supplement practices of CrossFit participants remain unknown. METHODS: The questionnaire was adapted from previous research and pilot tested. The final questionnaire was distributed to CrossFit gyms via flyers, email correspondence, phone calls, and advertisement in a CrossFit-related news outlet. RESULTS: Of the 2,576 complete responses (female 52%, age 39.4 ± 11.1 y, body mass index 26.1 ± 3.9 kg/m2, years of CrossFit 5.3 ± 3.1 y, frequency of CrossFit 4.5 ± 1.1 d/wk), 695 (27%) were a CrossFit coach and 1,392 (54%) participated in competitions. Of the responses, 60.1% reported following a particular diet. Macro counting (18.6%), Intermittent Fasting (7.7%), and Paleo (6.1%) were the most frequently reported diets. The top reasons for following a specific diet were to improve overall health (45.6%), decrease body fat (29.2%), and improve CrossFit® performance (25.2%). The top sources of dietary information were the internet (47.5%), coach/trainer (28.7%), and nutritionist/dietitian (26.2%). Additionally, 82.2% consumed at least 1 supplement, with protein (51.2%), creatine (22.9%), and pre-workout (20.7%) being most popular. The top reasons for consuming supplements were to improve recovery (52.6%), improve overall health (51.4%), and increase muscle mass/strength (41.7%). The top sources of information on supplements were the internet (53.1%), coach/trainer (27.0%), and peer-reviewed research (23.0%). CONCLUSION: A large proportion of CrossFit® participants may follow specific diets or consume supplements with the intention of improving health and performance. These findings may support future research on the effects of various dietary patterns and supplements on CrossFit® performance