Eureka! Institutional Repository

Introduction: Over the past few years, more and more "food supplements" show up every day. Mass media such as magazines, television and the Internet keep presenting new data that argue that the intake of a "supplement" will provide treatment towards a health condition or participate in some organic functions. The role of supplements is to provide nutrients that may not be obtained in sufficient quantities. Supplement use should always be personalized and take into consideration the diet and everyday life of each individual. Food supplements can be vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids or other substances, in the form of pills, tablets, capsules, liquids, etc. and are available in a range of doses and different combinations. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the trends of supplement use in the prefecture of Thessaloniki. Methodology: For the documenting of trends a questionnaire of 32 questions was distributed to 800 residents of western and central Thessaloniki. The questions gathered data on participants' personal data, their knowledge of food supplements and their use, such as usage reasons, supplement types, sources of information, etc. The data collected were analyzed with SPSS 20 to find correlations between the variables. Results: 59% of the participants used food supplements, 37% does not use them and 4% doesn't remember. The 3 most popular reasons for use are: a) treatment of pathological conditions (26.6%), b) improvement of physical condition (32.7%), and c) treatment of lack of nutrients (22.3%). Conclusions: The use of dietary supplements tends to be treated with caution, and this indicates that supplements are still treated as some kind of alternative "medicine". In addition, correlations were found, mainly between the educational level and knowledge of nutritional supplements and their use, the ratios and types of supplements used and the sex of the respondents.