Factors associated with adolescent supplement consumption

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing supply of dietary supplements associated with fickle body image, make adolescents consume to indiscriminately dietary supplements. Objective: Analyze the factors associated with the consumption of supplements for teens, in São Luis-MA. Methods: A cross-sectional study, with 94 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. The dependent variable was the use of supplement and the explanatory variables were time practicing the activity, income, education, type of sport practiced, weekly frequency in the gym, supplement use indication, sex, race and marital status. Multiple logistic regression adopting the 0.05.  Results: The use of supplements was reported by 65.96% of respondents, and the physical educators (19,15%) are the most responsible for the indication of the goods. Being male, incomplete higher education, weekly frequency in the gym for more than five days and spend more than two hours practicing activities were associated with the use of supplements in the univariate analysis. In multiple logistic regression analysis only the gender variable in the final model. Discussion: The male gender variable was the most relevant factor in the association with the consumption of supplements, being evidenced in several studies this tendency, however, its attribution is not yet fully established. Conclusion: The use of supplements is high among adolescents and being male increases the odds for the consumption of supplements and mostly did not get professional advice.