Use of dietary supplements and evaluation of healthy nutrition in children aged 3-12

Objective: Nutrition is defined as taking the nutrients needed by the body in sufficient variety and amount at certain times in order to protect and improve the health of the body and to increase the quality of life. The ease of access to information with the developing technology has made it possible for individuals to increase their level of awareness about health and to be inclined to take the decision authority on their own and their children's health issues. Dietary supplements, also known as food supplements, are the production of high amounts of nutrients in the form of tablets, pills, syrup and similar forms. It is used to support the diet. In this study, to investigate the effects of healthy eating behaviors, frequency of food supplement use, sociodemographic characteristics of parents and children, general health status and nutritional behaviors of the child on the use of food supplements in preschool children aged 3-5 years and school age 6-12 years old; to examine attitudes and behaviors related to healthy nutrition and food supplementation; It is aimed to bring these local data to the literature. Method: The study was conducted with parents with children aged 3-12 years who applied to the pediatric outpatient clinics of Samsun University Samsun Education and Research Hospital between 1 November and 15 December 2022. A questionnaire consisting of 41 questions about sociodemographic characteristics, healthy nutrition and food supplements was applied to the participants by face-to-face interview method. The data were analyzed in the SPSS 24 program and the significance level was accepted as p<.050. Results: In the study, it was found that 11.6% of the children were overweight, 18.4% were obese, 54.8% skipped meals, 39.7% did not consume red meat and 57.4% fish enough. The use of dietary supplements in children was found to be 48.2%. It was found that the most preferred dietary supplements were 56.4% omega, 40.2% vitamin D, 35.8% multivitamin + mineral complex. It has been determined that dietary supplements are most frequently used to boost the immune system, protect health and increase appetite, and the use of dietary supplements for these purposes is higher in girls. It was determined that the use of dietary supplements in children was not related to the sociodemographic characteristics of the child and the parent and increased with the child's chronic disease (p<,010). It was found that the use of dietary supplements in children was not associated with the consumption of red meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, but was associated with the consumption of dairy food. Conclusion: The principle of family medicine requires providing a continuous and comprehensive health service to patients due to the biopsychosocial approach. It is a necessity for family physicians to have sufficient knowledge about healthy nutrition and ditary supplements that are widely used in public health. Physicians should question the use of dietary supplements in their patients, ensure that dietary supplements are used consciously and when necessary, and have information about side effects, appropriate dosing and drug interactions. Parents should be educated about healthy nutrition and the conscious use of food supplements, and studies should be carried out to increase the level of awareness on these issues.