Object The aim of this retrospective infodemiological study was to evaluate people’s interests in dietary supplements and functional foods during the coronavirus pandemic via analysis of Google search engine statistics. Design & settings The category, period, and regions selected in the Google Trends were “health,” “15 January–15 May 2020,” in the USA, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Italy, and France, respectively. The most commonly searched dietary supplements and functional foods (n = 32) during the pandemic were determined from a pool of keywords (n = 1,286) based on the terms’ relative search volumes (RSVs) within the last five years. Correlation analyses were conducted to invesitgate associations between coronavirus-related parameters with each keyword’s RSV for each country. Selected keywords (n = 25) were analyzed using the gtrendsR package in the R programming language; the ggplot2 package was used to visualize the data, the Prophet package was used to estimate the time series, and the dplyr package was used to create the data frame. Results Significantly strong positive correlations were identified between daily RSVs of the terms “black seed,”“vitamin C,”“zinc,” and “quercetin,” and search queries for “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” in the USA (Spearman’s correlation coefficient >0.8, p < 0.000), and between the RSVs of the terms “vitamin C” and “zinc,” and daily search queries for “coronavirus” and/or “COVID-19” in the UK (Spearman’s correlation coefficient > 0.8, p < 0.05). Conclusion Google Trends can be a beneficial tool for following public interest in identifying outbreak-related misinformation, and scientific studies and statements from authorities and the media play a potential role in driving internet searches.

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This study aimed to evaluate the consumption of dietary supplements (DS) and to determine related topics in Turkish football players of different sexes and competition levels. A total of 117 footballers (79 males and 38 females) completed a specific survey regarding DS consumption in athletes. The type of DS ingested was classified based on the level of scientific evidence by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS): group A (high level of scientific evidence), group B (DS that could have a positive effect, but require more evidence), group C (evidence is against their use), and group D (prohibited substances). After a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, a t-test or Mann–Whitney U test was performed for quantitative variables, while Pearson’s chi-square and odds ratio (with the confidence interval) were performed for qualitative variables. Of the sample, 87.2% reported having consumed DS, with a higher consumption rate in males (males: 93.7%, females: 73.7%; p = 0.006; OR = 5.3 [1.7–16.8]) and professional players (professional: 98.2%, non-professional: 77.4%; p < 0.001; OR = 7.9 [1.2–52.3]). Males and professional players consume more sports foods (p < 0.001), performance supplements (p < 0.001), and total group A supplements (p < 0.001) compared to females and non-professionals. In addition, males consume more medical supplements (p = 0.012) and total group C supplements (p < 0.001) than female footballers. The most consumed DS were sports drinks (63.2%), magnesium (52.1%), vitamin C (51.3%), vitamin D (46.2%), caffeine (38.5%), sports bars (37.6%), whey protein (28.2%), meat protein (25.6%), vitamin E (24.8%), and omega-3 fatty acids (24.8%). The supplement consumption was higher in male and professional footballers. According to the AIS classification, there were significant differences in the consumption of sports foods, medical supplements, performance supplements, and the total number of group A and group C supplements according to sex, and there were significant differences in the consumption of sports foods, performance supplements, and the total number of group A supplements according to competition level.

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are one of the most controversial ergogenic aids in terms of effectiveness and safety. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and reliability of BCAA supplements related to English videos on YouTubeä and to synthesize with the sentiment–emotion analysis of comments on videos. The content analysis of the information on videos was evaluated with the use of DISCERN, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and Global Quality Score (GQS). In addition, word cloud and sentiment and emotional analysis of comments in videos were performed with the R package. As a result, the mean ± standard error values of DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores of all videos were 29.27 ± 1.97, 1.95 ± 0.12, and 2.13 ± 0.17, respectively. It was found that advertisement-free videos have a significantly higher DISCERN and GQS score than advertisement-included videos (p < 0.05). A moderately significant positive correlation was determined between DISCERN score of video content and the positive sentiment of video comments (rs: 0.400, p = 0.002). In conclusion, it was determined that BCAA-related YouTubeä videos have mostly very poor quality in terms of content and that videos with higher quality may receive positive comments from viewers according to the DISCERN instrument.

ÖzGıdalara olumlu özellikler katmak amacıyla kullanılan gıda katkı maddeleri hakkında toplumun tüketim oranları tam bilinmemektedir. Bu çalışmada, bireylerin gıda katkı maddelerine maruziyetlerinin potansiyel riskini ve katkı maddeleri hakkındaki bilgilerini saptamak amaçlandı. Bu kesitsel çalışma Şubat 2010-Nisan 2011' de İstanbul Beşiktaş'ta yürütüldü. Yüz yüze uygulanan anketlerde bireylerin eğitim düzeyi, antropometrik özellikleri, öğün düzenleri, kronik hastalıkları ve katkı maddeleri hakkındaki bilgileri sorgulandı. Sağlığa olası olumsuz etkileri nedeniyle özellikle; nitrit, nitrat, monosodyum glutamat (MSG) ve yüksek fruktozlu mısır şurubu (YFMŞ) içeren bazı gıdaların tüketim sıklıkları sorgulandı. Veriler frekans, yüzde oran, ortalama, standart sapma, Fisher'in kesin ki kare testi ve ki-kare testleri kullanılarak SPSS 15,0 programıyla değerlendirildi. %95 güven düzeyinde p<0,05 anlamlı kabul edildi. Örneklemin 253' ü kadın, 133' ü erkek 384 bireyin yaş ağırlık, boy ve VKI ortalamaları sırasıyla 42,31±15,01, 72 kg, 167 cm, 26 kg/boy² idi. Bireyler katkı maddeleri hakkında yeterli bilgiye sahip değildi. Değerlendirilen katkı maddelerinden nitrit ve nitrat, sırasıyla en çok sucuk, pişirilmiş-dondurulmuş etlerden ve sosisten, YFMŞ kola, şekerli meyve suyu ve çikolatadan ve MSG en çok cips, dondurulmuş patates ve salata sosundan alınıyordu. Bu gıdalardan sucuk ve pişirilmiş-dondurulmuş etlerle alınan nitritin ADI değerlerini geçtiği saptandı. Diğer gıdaların da gün içinde bir kaçının birlikte alınması halinde nitrat, MSG ve YFMŞ için de limit aşımı olabileceği öngörüldü.Gıdalardan alınan katkı maddelerinin, ADI değerlerinin üzerinde olması durumunda sağlığa olumsuz etkileri olduğu bilindiği için, aşırı tüketimleri önlenmeli, bireyler bilinçlendirilmeli, üretim denetlenmeli ve standardizasyonlara uyum sağlanmalıdır. AbstractCommunity consumption rates of the food additives, which are mostly used to add positive qualities to food, are not known precisely. In this study, it was aimed to determine the potential risk of individuals' exposure to food additives and their awareness about them. Material and method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Besiktas, Istanbul. By face to face intervention method individuals' education levels, anthropometric characteristics, diet patterns, chronic illnesses and knowledge about additives were questioned. Especially due to their possible negative health effects nitrite, nitrate, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) included foods are questioned. Data were evaluated using SPSS 15.0 program by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Fisher's exact chi-square test and Chi-square tests. At 95% confidence level, p<0,05 was considered significant. There were 253 female, 133 male and their mean age, weight and BMI was; 42,31±15,01, 72 kg, 167 cm, 26 kg/boy², respectively. Individuals didn't have enough knowledge about additives. Among the investigated additives; nitrite and nitrate were mostly taken from sausage, cooked-frozen meat and sausa...