New sources of information and its impact on the knowledge of university students on the use of vitamins and dietary supplements

Introduction: The dissatisfaction of young people about their own bodies stimulates the search for products such as dietary supplements and vitamins, which may be a health hazard. Objective: To know the use frequency of these substances, what the participants know about the matter, evaluate which information sources are used and identify the main motivations of its use. Methodology: It has been performed a cross-sectional study with students of 9 different majors in a private university of CuritibaPR. Were included 14 questions about knowledge and use of vitamins and dietary supplements. Discussion: Protein supplements were the most consumed, which is consistent with other studies. The abusive use of those substances may cause kidney injuries and favor oncogenesis. Results: The sample were composed by 1014 students, with a 541 (53.3%) male gender rate. From the total amount, 313 (31%) confirmed to use vitamins and/or dietary supplements, with 101 (10%) using only vitamins, 134 (12%) only supplements and 78 (8%) using both. Most of the consumers of vitamins 94 (52.3%) and supplements 156 (73.8%) were taking the substances without medical indication. The internet was the most used source of information, with 774 (76%). The major motivations for the consumption of supplements and vitamins were to increase muscle strength (69.2%) and to increase immunity (58.7%). Conclusion: Among the interviewed students, 313 (31%) said to be taking vitamins and/or supplements, using mainly the internet as an information source. The major motivation was to increase muscle strength. Vitamin intake without medical indication was not followed by a proper knowledge of the matter, what may facilitate the occurrence of adverse effects.