The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan
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...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/11/1250 |
| _version_ | 1811280042591780864 |
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| author | Etsuko Kobayashi Yoko Sato Keizo Umegaki Tsuyoshi Chiba |
| author_facet | Etsuko Kobayashi Yoko Sato Keizo Umegaki Tsuyoshi Chiba |
| author_sort | Etsuko Kobayashi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:06:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5422cc5adbab4872a399a58c57d78701 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:06:30Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-5422cc5adbab4872a399a58c57d787012022-12-22T03:09:18ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432017-11-01911125010.3390/nu9111250nu9111250The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in JapanEtsuko Kobayashi0Yoko Sato1Keizo Umegaki2Tsuyoshi Chiba3Department of Food Function and Labeling, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, JapanDepartment of Food Function and Labeling, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, JapanDepartment of Food Function and Labeling, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, JapanDepartment of Food Function and Labeling, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, JapanTo 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/11/1250dietary supplementscollege studentsadverse effectsgender differencesInternet-based survey |
| spellingShingle | Etsuko Kobayashi Yoko Sato Keizo Umegaki Tsuyoshi Chiba The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan Nutrients dietary supplements college students adverse effects gender differences Internet-based survey |
| title | The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan |
| title_full | The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan |
| title_fullStr | The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan |
| title_short | The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use among College Students: A Nationwide Survey in Japan |
| title_sort | prevalence of dietary supplement use among college students a nationwide survey in japan |
| topic | dietary supplements college students adverse effects gender differences Internet-based survey |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/11/1250 |
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