The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan

Abstract

To clarify the prevalence of dietary supplement use among college students, we conducted Internet-based nationwide questionnaire surveys with 157,595 Japanese college students aged between 18 to 24 years old who were registrants of Macromill Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). Among the 9066 respondents (response rate 5.8%), 16.8% were currently using dietary supplements. The prevalence of dietary supplement use did not differ significantly between males (17.1%) and females (16.7%). However, it increased according to their grade (13.1% to 20.5%), and it was higher in medical and pharmaceutical college students (22.0%) compared to others (16.7%). The main purpose of dietary supplement use was for the health benefits in both males and females. Other reasons were to build muscle in males, and as a beauty supplement and for weight loss in females. According to the purpose of dietary supplement use, the most commonly-used dietary supplements were vitamin/mineral supplements in both males and females, then protein and weight loss supplements in males and females, respectively. Although most students obtained information about dietary supplements via the Internet, they typically purchased the supplements from drug stores. Of the students surveyed, 7.5% who were currently using or used to use dietary supplements experienced adverse effects, with no significant difference between genders (8.8% in male, 7.0% in female). In conclusion, the prevalence of dietary supplement use increased with grade among college students in Japan. Some of them experienced adverse effects. Education may be important to prevent adverse effects resulting from supplement use in college.

The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use Among Elementary, Junior High, and High School Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan

“…Not only was the prevalence of dietary supplement use in each grade similar, but the increase in use in line with increasing age as shown in the Nara study was also replicated. In addition, Sato et al reported the prevalence of dietary supplement use in preschool children as 8.0% [ 13 ], whereas the prevalence in college students and adults has been estimated to be between 32.0% and 60.7%, respectively [ 15 , 22 ]. Thus, our result of an increase from 15.3% in ES (1st-3rd) to 29.2% in HS falls in the middle of the reported range between preschoolers and college students.…”

“…This was likely due to this survey being conducted on mothers, who do not normally give their children dietary supplements for body weight loss, as seen in the popularity of growth-promoting supplements in this report. Having different purposes for dietary supplement use between boys and girls might have resulted in a higher prevalence in boys than in girls, as opposed to the higher prevalence use in women than men in adult age groups [ 15 , 22 ].…”

“…An internet-based survey was conducted, as described previously by Macromill, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan), between 4 August and 28 August 2017 [ 15 ]. A total of 265,629 mothers aged from 25 to 59 years old who had school-aged children were invited to participate in this survey and 19,041 mothers responded to the preliminary survey.…”

“…Previously, we conducted a nationwide survey to determine the prevalence of dietary supplement use among college students in Japan. The prevalence of dietary supplement use among college students was 16.8%, and prevalence increased from 1st grade (13.8%) to 4th grade (18.7%), in accordance with their school grade [ 15 ]. Unlike preschool children, most students had purchased the dietary supplements themselves for intended purposes such as building muscle, weight loss, as a beauty product, or for additional nutrient supplementation.…”

Vitamin D Status in Japanese Adults: Relationship of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D with Simultaneously Measured Dietary Vitamin D Intake and Ultraviolet Ray Exposure

“…Before analysis, vitamin D intake was energy-adjusted by the density method, wherein daily vitamin D intake was calculated as the amount (μg) per 1000 kcal of daily energy intake [21]. In Japan, supplement use of vitamin D is uncommon, given that only 10%-30% of people are estimated to use supplements of any type [22][23][24]. Vitamin D fortification of foods is rare.…”