A research conducted regarding the impacts of the consumption of the dietary supplements of the university student’s on their nutrition consumptions

It has been conducted during the dates of February 2006 and February 2007 at the University of Gazi, The Faculty of Vocational Education to serve the purpose of determining the dietary sufficiency and frequently used dietary supplements, the conditions on the utilization of the dietary supplements and the utilization purposes of the University Students. A survey was also performed to gather information regarding the usage status of the dietary supplements as well as personal information on the students. For the determination of the status of the consumption of the nutritious food by the students, a nutrition consumption chart which was used to keep the records of the nutrition consumption of 3 days has been utilized. The data which was gathered by the survey forms, was evaluated and commented by utilizing SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 13 for Windows package program. The BeBis (Nutrition Information System) program was used to assess the components of the food and contents of the diet. The RDA values in terms of sex and age were used for the assessment of the nutrition intake and energy. 52.1 % of the students were received nutrition education, 47.9 % of them were not. The 68.8 % of the students who were participated in the research are to be determined not using dietary supplements. The ratio for the ones who mentioned that they have been using is 13.2 %, the ones sometimes using the dietary supplements are 18.5 % of the participants. The ratio of the students who have already used the dietary supplements for a period of 13 months is 38.9 % and it is 23.1 % who have already used the dietary supplements for a period of 36 months. The 53.7 % of the participant students reported that they have been using dietary supplements only when they have flu or when they catch cold as a preventative measure. When other purposes of usage are evaluated, it is seen that 33.3 % are using to gain energy, 31.4 % are using to assist the digestion process. The most frequently used dietary supplements are herbal teas, Vitamin C, multivitamin multi minerals and energy drinks. The energy, Vitamin D, tiamin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, iron, potassium and fiber are the elements which are consumed by the students inadequately in term of the recommended values. The nutrition education which will be provided to the students from the early ages will play an important role in making a habit of the learned material.