Dietary supplement use among a population of university students in Italy: Correlations with BMI, dietary habits and sport activities

Attention to personal health and to healthy lifestyles has increased in recent decades among the population of industrialised countries. Various phenomena are linked to this change, such as the proliferation of fitness and wellness centres, the increased consumption of organic food and the extended use of dietary supplements. Food supplementation has become popular, as has the attention to the nutritional aspects of dietary behaviour. The use of dietary supplements is generally more common between people with higher socioeconomic status, healthier lifestyle habits, higher education level and lower body mass index (BMI), furthermore is more common in women than in men. In this study we aimed to investigate the prevalence of use of food supplements in a group of university students, correlating the use with indicators of healthy lifestyles generally associated with the consumption, such as BMI, dietary habits and sport activity. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by 145 voluntary students, attending the university in the city of Turin, North of Italy, belonging to areas of sport, biologic and medical sciences. The questionnaire included questions related to personal information, dietary attitudes and supplement consumption. 45.1% of the students reported the use of supplements. Vitamins/minerals and sport supplements were the most commonly consumed and were taken mainly to improve sport performance or to improve health. No relevant differences between supplement consumers and non consumers were seen in relation to healthy behaviours and to gender or anthropometric characteristics, except for a lower BMI in male supplement consumers and a higher consume of specific sport supplements in male with very intense sport activity