청소년기의 비타민.무기질 보충제 복용에 영향을 미치는 요인

Vitamin.Mineral Supplement Use and Related Variables by Korean Adolescents

This study was performed to investigate the factors related to vitamin & mineral supplement use by the adolescents. Nine hundred and seventy-two adolescent boys and girls attending middle or high schools were chosen from various cities and rural communities in Korea. In this study, the factors affecting vitamin & mineral supplement use were analyzed from a self-administered questionnaire. It was found that vitamin & mineral supplements were taken by 31.3% of subjects. High school students(p<.01), female girl students(p<.001), and rural-dwellers(p<.001) took vitamin & mineral supplements more frequently than their complementing groups. The socioeconomic status of the family (p<.01), and supplement consumption by parents and siblings respectively affected the supplement use by the subjects(p<.001). Vitamin·mineral supplements were consumed more often in subjects who perceived their health as poor(p<.001), skipped breakfast(p<.05), and received nutritional information from books or magazines(p<.05). However, food habits and nutritional knowledge score of subjects did not affect vitamin & mineral supplement use. These findings suggest that adolescents take vitamin & mineral supplements commonly, and they tend to use supplements without prescription. Vitamin·mineral supplement consumption seems to be affected by general characteristics, health related variables, and meal management attitudes of subjects. Therefore, nutritional understanding and education are required in regard to the used of vitamin & mineral supplements, and the relationship between balanced diet and good health for the adolescents.