Determining the use of dietary supplements among university students

Birsen KARA, Determining the Use of Dietary Supplements Among University Students, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Institute of Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Programme Master Thesis, Gaziantep, 2019. The aim of this study is to investigate the nutritional status and use of dietary supplements among university students. The study was conducted on a total of 400 students; including 256 males and 144 females. The general information about students; nutritional habits, dietary supplement use, physical activity level and nutritional status were determined by a questionnaire. The mean age of the students is 21,4 ± 1,93 years and the mean BMI of the students is 22,7 ± 3,7 kg/m2.Our of total 62,9% of males and 72,2% of females have normal weight. It has been determined that 65,5% of the students skipped meals. The most skipped meal was breakfast with 57,6%. 20,7% of male students and 21,5% of female students do not consume any snacks between meals. 10,7% of the students (10,5% of males, 11,1% of females) use dietary supplements. Considering the students using nutritional supplements; 14% use vitamins, 9,3% use minerals, 32,5% vitamins & minerals and 44,2% use other supplements. 48,2% of male students use dietary supplements to build muscles and 68,8% of female students use them to keep healthy. 32,5% of the students think that dietary supplements are beneficial for health, 35,8% think that they are not beneficial and 31,7% think that some of them are beneficial. 51,2% of the students engage in regular physical activity. Energy, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, folate, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc intake of students were detected to be below the recommended amounts. The vitamin B12 intake of students who use vitamin supplements and sodium & phosphorus intake of students who use mineral supplements were detected to be above the recommended daily amounts. Considering the other vitamins and minerals, their compensation for recommended daily intakes are low. As a conclusion, using dietary supplements may be beneficial for students having nutrients intake lower than recommended daily amounts. However, meeting the nutritional requirements with food will be healthier and more affordable. Key Words: dietary supplements, university students, nutrition