Awareness level, source of information and extent of use of egrogenic substance among athletes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated the awareness level, source of information and extent of use of ergogenic substance to enhance performance by athletes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. A total of 220 athletes (135 male; 85 females) who participated in the 15 accredited sports by the Nigeria University Games (NUGA) Council at the 22nd biannual games held at University of Nigeria, Nsukka consisted the sample for the study. A structured questionnaire designed by the researchers was used to collect data for the study. The result showed that 40.0% of the athletes were aware of some of the ergogenic substances that enhance performance, 11.6% had seen and 2.2% on the average had used the substance at one time or the other. Many of the athletes 97.8% claimed that though they had heard and seen some of the substances, they had never used them. The study concluded that though the extent of ergogenic substance use was not high among the athletes, early intervention can prevent future outbreak since there is sufficient awareness already. It was recommended among others that appropriate measures should be taken to educate the athletes on the dangers and side effects of ergogenic substances.