Awareness of Vitamin and mineral supplements among college students

Abstract

A Vitamin or mineral supplement is a kind of adjunct that aims to supplement the diet and it comprises a wide range of Vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc., that amplifies different nutrient levels. People intake such supplements for protection against health illnesses such as stress, cold, flu, osteoporosis, heart attacks, tooth decay, cancer, and neural tube defects in infants, etc. Anyhow, intake of large amounts without proper medical consideration can have severe negative consequences. This study aimed to assess the awareness on Vitamin and mineral supplements among College students. An online cross-sectional questionnaire was made using Google Forms and distributed among 100 College students. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive analysis and Chi-square tests were done. Results showed that the majority of 63.43% of UG students and 21.64% of PG students believed that its consumption was beneficial and in general awareness was more among UG students. When asked about the Vitamin that should be avoided during pregnancy, a majority of 20.30% of UG students opted for Vitamin E and 7.52% of PG students opted for Vitamin A which shows that both were feasible options as they were fat-soluble vitamins capable of causing congenital defects. The most probable issue related with the use of dietary supplements is that the people who include them in their diet might see it as a substitute, in lieu of a supplement, thus, more people should be made aware of the proper consumption and side effects of Vitamin and mineral supplements.