Dietary supplementation and health behavior in a sample of young adults in Austria

The market for dietary supplements (DS) is booming since DS can be a simple and targeted dietary component if a wholesome nutrition is not available. DS consumption might be linked to other health behaviors that help people to maintain health and reduce potential health risks. The aim of this study was to identify and compare selected health behaviors among young Austrian DS consumers.

An online questionnaire (including dietary habits, consumption of DS, physical activity, general state of health, DEGS FFQ) was handed out via a pannel distribution to young Austrian adults aged 18 to 30 years.

The questionnaire was answered by 400 participants, of which 33% consumed DS regularly. There were no significant differences between the sexes with regard to the consumption of DS. Most participants (66%) consumed DS without medical prescription. Only the consumption of healthy food as well as weekly time spent on sports as part of health behavior was able to predict DS consumption.

Although DS consumers show significantly higher levels of health behavior in some facets, they do not differ from non-DS consumers in a large number of health-relevant aspects. Our results indicate that DS consumers exhibit a broader spectrum of health-relevant behaviors than non-DS consumers and thus contribute to maintaining their health. Further studies with larger national samples and alternative assessment methods are necessary to consolidate the existing results and hypotheses.