Supplement Use and Its Effects Chris Acker English 202A

What are Supplements? According to the FDA ,”A dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to add further nutritional value to (supplement) the diet.” Examples of dietary ingredients: -vitamins -herbs - amino acids - minerals Can be found in forms such as pills, powders, liquids and tablets

Research “Patterns of dietary supplement use among college students” Clinical Nutrition “Dietary Supplement Use Among Undergraduate College Students” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics “Risks and side effects of dietary supplements” American Cancer Society

Goals To determine the prevalence of side affects associated with supplement intake Also to determine the popularity of supplement use among college students at Penn State University I am also interested in the knowledge college students have about the side effects of supplements

Hypothesis Large populations of college students will be supplement users due to the increased popularity Little known about the side effects due to inexperience with these problems Expect a low amount of side effect cases

Methods:Survey Use 30 random individuals in a gym and distribute surveys Both males and females will be surveyed with the goal of receiving close to equal amount of surveys from both The survey includes 7 questions pertaining to supplement knowledge and experience

Survey Questions What supplements do you take? How often do you consume these supplements? What are your reasons for taking them? How many times per week are they consumed? What health changes have you noticed due to intake if any? Are these changes positive or negative? List the prescribed medications you are taking currently if any? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least knowledgeable, rate your knowledge of supplements.

Survey So far 18 surveys completed, 11 males, 7 females 8 out of the 11 males use supplements currently with protein powder being the most common type listed 5 out of the 7 females use supplements with vitamin c supplements being the most common supplement listed The frequency of use ranged from 1 day to 7 days per week No survey included the supplements they consume as having any major negative effects 2 individuals are consuming supplements as well as medications

Survey No individual reported a rating of 4 or 5 for their knowledge on supplements Reasons listed for intake of supplements: Believe they are healthy Build muscle Help immune system They are convenient

Methods:Interview Will interview a friend who had serious health issues due to overuse of a supplement He is also a college student The interview will include his knowledge of supplement use before and after the health issue

Conclusion Hope to gain knowledge on if health issues due to supplement use are on the rise among college students