Estudo comparativo entre homens e mulheres : perfil da prática de exercícios físicos, consumo de suplementos alimentares e alterações nos marcadores bioquímicos da função hepática e renal de praticantes de academias de Santa Cruz do Sul/RS.

Abstract

In the search for a more active lifestyle, many individuals have resorted to physical exercise in gymnasiums, which has also led these adepts to consume food supplements. The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate and present separately the profile of men and women practicing in gymnasiums and to look for associations between the consumption of food supplements and possible alterations in the biochemical markers of liver and kidney function between the sexes. Article 1: Objective: to evaluates and compare the profile of men and women in relation to physical exercise in gyms. Methods: cross-sectional study compared with gym practitioners, in which an online questionnaire on physical exercise was used. Results: it was evaluated 594 practitioners of gyms, with prevalence of female sex (55.2%) and mean age of 37.10±14.06 years. Most women were 31 to 50 years old and men were 18 to 30 years old (p=0.004). Regarding marital status, 48.3% of the subjects were married (p=0.011) and 35.8% of the individuals worked in the commerce/industry area (p=0.047). Among the objectives in the academy, both sexes indicated that they would like to increase the muscular mass (52.6%; p<0.001) and 36.4% of the women still had the objective to lose weight (p=0.002). Weight training, functional training, localized gymnastics, dance and pilates differed between the sexes (p<0.05). Moreover, most men and women performed physical exercises of up to 60 minutes with a frequency of 4 to 5 times a week (p<0.05). A higher prevalence of men and women reported being dissatisfied with their body weight, showing that 50% of individuals, regardless of sex, would like to decrease their body weight. Health status and stress level did not differ between sex (p>0.005); however, both reported to manage stress level very well (85.9%; p=0.031). Conclusion: the profile of men and women in relation to the practice of physical exercises was similar in relation to the practice of weight training and gain of muscle mass. Half of the population studied, regardless of gender, showed dissatisfaction with body weight. Article 2: Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of food supplement consumption among men and women who practice gymnastics and compare it with possible alterations in biochemical markers of liver and kidney function. Methods: a cross-sectional study with gym practitioners, in which an online questionnaire was applied to obtain information on supplementation. To evaluate the changes in liver and kidney markers, laboratory tests were performed on a subsample of the study population. For data analysis, the chi-square test was used, considering the significance level of p<0.05. Results: Of the 594 practitioners of academies, 36% of the individuals reported consume food supplements. The male gender presented significantly higher consumption of food supplements (42.5%; p=0.002), as well as a higher amount in the number of supplements consumed (8.3%; p=0.003). In addition, the prescription of supplements differed between genders (p=0.003), showing that 42.5% of men reported consumption of supplements on their own initiative, unlike women, who mostly sought guidance for the consumption of food supplements from a health professional (nutritionist, 33.3% and doctors, 16.0%). When evaluating biochemical changes in liver and kidney function among food supplement consumers (n=98), males presented significantly higher prevalence of changes in the enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (16.7%, p=0.049), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (33.3%, p<0.001) and urea levels (39.6%, p=0.009). Conclusion: Food supplement intake was more prevalent among men, as well as self-supplementation and alteration in ALT, AST and renal urea markers. Article 3: Objective: to review the scientific literature on dissatisfaction with body image, as well as on the method used for its evaluation in physical exercise practitioners in gyms. Method: This research was carried out in scientific databases, selecting articles in Portuguese, English, and Spanish that evaluated body self-perception and physical exercises in gym practitioners from 2008 to 2018. Results: 10 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in their entirety. The prevalence of body dissatisfaction found among men and women ranged from 7.8% to 98.8% and the methods used to evaluate body perception among the selected articles were the Body Shape Questionnare (BSQ), followed by the Stunkard Scale. Conclusion: despite the great variation, it was verified a quite expressive body dissatisfaction among practitioners of academy, of both sexes. However, the importance of an ideal instrument to evaluate body perception among gym practitioners is highlighted. General conclusions: It can be verified in this study, a difference in the profile of the practice of physical exercises between men and women practitioners of gyms, as well as a high consumption of food supplements among men, without prescription and guidance of a trained professional, which may have contributed to the biochemical alterations in the markers of renal and hepatic function found in males.