Dietary Supplement Use among a Population of University Students in Italy: Correlations with BMI, Dietary Habits and Sport Activities

Abstract

Attention to personal health and to healthy lifestyles has increased in recent decades among the population of industrialised countries. Various phenomena are linked to this change, such as the proliferation of fitness and wellness centres, the increased consumption of organic food and the extended use of dietary supplements. Food supplementation has become popular, as has the attention to the nutritional aspects of dietary behaviour. The use of dietary supplements is generally more common between people with higher socioeconomic status, healthier lifestyle habits, higher education level and lower body mass index (BMI), furthermore is more common in women than in men. In this study we aimed to investigate the prevalence of use of food supplements in a group of university students, correlating the use with indicators of healthy lifestyles generally associated with the consumption, such as BMI, dietary habits and sport activity. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by 145 voluntary students, attending the university in the city of Turin, North of Italy, belonging to areas of sport, biologic and medical sciences. The questionnaire included questions related to personal information, dietary attitudes and supplement consumption. 45.1% of the students reported the use of supplements. Vitamins/minerals and sport supplements were the most commonly consumed and were taken mainly to improve sport performance or to improve health. No relevant differences between supplement consumers and non consumers were seen in relation to healthy behaviours and to gender or anthropometric characteristics, except for a lower BMI in male supplement consumers and a higher consume of specific sport supplements in male with very intense sport activity.

Dietary Supplement Use in Relation to Socio-Demographic and Lifestyle Factors, including Adherence to Mediterranean-Style Diet in University Students

“…Prevalence of DS use was over 40% in the study population, and the most popular supplements consumed were single vitamins, followed by multivitamins and/or minerals. In studies conducted among Japanese [5], New Zealand [19], Italian [8], Croatian [7], and US [10] university students, the prevalence of DS use ranged from 17% to 66%. Similarly to our research, in the majority of those studies, the most commonly used DS by students were vitamins and minerals [5,[8][9][10].…”

“…In studies conducted among Japanese [5], New Zealand [19], Italian [8], Croatian [7], and US [10] university students, the prevalence of DS use ranged from 17% to 66%. Similarly to our research, in the majority of those studies, the most commonly used DS by students were vitamins and minerals [5,[8][9][10]. In some studies, protein/amino acids, fish oil/omega-3 supplements and weight loss supplements were popular as well [5,7,9].…”

“…Most studies conducted among university students focused on the reasons and types of supplements used [5,[7][8][9], but less frequently on the relationship with socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. Furthermore, there is little research using a holistic approach for the estimation of diet quality among those who use these products [10] and an existing study in this area was limited mainly to broader age groups or older adults [11][12][13][14].…”

Determining the prevalence of dietary supplement consumption among Ardabil University students and related factors, 2014

“…1,2 Dietary fortification with micronutrients is a recent and important issue, intended particularly to provide nutritional elements useful for preventing diseases, maintaining a good status of health or for supply ready-to-use resources for sporting activities. 3 According to United States regulations, the term "dietary supplement" refers to a product that contains one or more of the following ingredients: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, dietary substances that supplement the human diet by increasing the total dietary In the European legislation, Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Community, dietary supplements are defined as concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect whose purpose is to supplement the normal diet. 3 The tendency to use supplements such as multivitamins and minerals in different societies has been increased.…”

“…3 According to United States regulations, the term "dietary supplement" refers to a product that contains one or more of the following ingredients: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, dietary substances that supplement the human diet by increasing the total dietary In the European legislation, Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Community, dietary supplements are defined as concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect whose purpose is to supplement the normal diet. 3 The tendency to use supplements such as multivitamins and minerals in different societies has been increased. 5,6 Using these dietary supplements are related with demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and health behaviors and chronic diseases of the individuals.…”