Understanding of food supplements and its usage among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students

Master‘s thesis by Povilas Valentukonis. Understanding of food supplements and its usage among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students. The aim of the study: to determine knowledge about food supplements, indications of use and usage among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students. The task of the research: 1. To compare usage of food supplements among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students. 2. To compare reasons for using food supplements among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students. 3. To compare attitude towards food supplements among Lithuanian sports university and medicine students. Methods: the research involved 159 4-6 year medical students (LUHS and VU universities) and 150 3-4 year LSU students from these study programs: “Physical development and sport”, “Sports recreation and tourism”, “Applied physical activity”, “Systems of training”, “Physical activity and public health”. Research data were acquired using questionnaires. The questionnaires were developed based on research article (Use of Dietary Supplements among Professional Athletes in Saudi Arabia. Sulaiman O. Aljaloud, Salam A. Ibrahim) which was published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism Volume 2013. Statistical analysis were performed using SPSS 22.0 program. Statistical significance was determined as p < 0.05. Results: medical students are less active during the week. Most common reason for using food supplements in both groups were to improve overall health and it was more common among medical students. LSU students more frequently acquired food supplements from specialized stores, coaches or didn’t buy them at all, while medical students purchased them from other sources. LSU students more frequently chose coaches and medical students more often chose scientific literature and internet while seeking information about food supplements. It was established, that comparing the attitude towards food supplements, with only one assertion the opinion was the same for both groups: it is safe to use food supplements. With all the other assertions, the opinions differ. It was determined that there was a difference in the food supplements both students groups use. Conclusions: there is no difference in the number of students, who use food supplements comparing both groups. There is a difference in comparing the food supplements both groups use, the places the food supplements are purchased, the source of information. It was discovered, that from the given five reasons for using food supplements only one differ: medicine students more commonly chose to improve overall health. It was established, that comparing the attitude towards food supplements, the opinion was the same for both groups only with one assertion: it is safe to use food supplements. With all the other assertions, the opinions differ