Question 3
The authors concluded that much research still needs to be done on the benefits of dietary supplement use and most supplement users get their information/recommendations from non-professionals. If this was your next research study, what other trends of dietary supplement use would you be interested in examining? Why?
posted by Bethany @ 7:17 PM
31 comments
31 Comments:
I agree that a lot more research needs to be done and I think we can all come up with a lot that we want to know but after working at the cancer center and reading and writing a lot about cancer prevention, I would be interested in looking at supplement use for cancer prevention. The AICR recommends not to use supplements to prevent against cancer because in high doses sometime they do more harm than good. I would like to see more research on this and which supplements increase your risk for what cancers.
I would like to research whey protein and muscle-enhancing supplementation with college students, particularly males. I think that there are more and more males that are turning to supplements to enhance muscle mass rather than increasing their muscle through diet and exercise alone.
Stephanie I liked what you included about supplementation for the prevention of cancer. I think that would be really interesting to see what people are taking (supplement-wise) because they have heard that it helps to prevent cancer.
I'd be interested in looking at "superfood" supplements: think noni, goji berry, acai, spirulina, etc. Juices, pills, and other forms of these superfoods are expensive, but popular. I'd be interested in looking at who's taking them, where they got their information from (TV?), and what they believe the benefits are versus the cost.
I think it would be interesting to examine supplement usage in the elderly. Also, I believe it would be interesting to investigate the perceptions those taking dietary supplements hold of why the supplements are benefiting them and then compare the perceived benefits to the actual dietary supplement claimed benefits.
I think it would be interesting to look at herbal and wt loss supplement use in college-age females. It would be interesting to compare use of a supplement with wt status, BMI, and diet (looking at quantity of food and how healthy the foods consumed were). Also, looking at where they learned about the supplement before use (friend, infomercial, store, etc).
I agree with Melanie that many college-age males are taking protein supplements to bulk up rather than getting more protein through food. It would be interesting to do a qualitative study and find out motives behind use of a supplement over diet/exercise alone.
A component of my thesis involved using 'diet pills' to lose weight in college students, which is an infrequent maladaptive weight control method in this population. I would be willing to bet that the usage is higher in high school students. Additionally, other weight control supplements like Alli that can be purchased OTC and abused by these students would be very interesting.
I think it would be interesting to study diet/weight loss pill use amongst high school and college age male and females. I assume that diet/weight loss pill usage would be high amongst these age groups. I imagine it would be higher in females, but I also think that there would be usage amongst males as well. It would be interesting to identify types of pills, frequency of usage along and also motivation for usage.
I would like to see more research on supplements that are supposed to enhance the immune system and those used for colds/flu. There are many products out there such as elderberry juice, quercitin, goldeseal,colloidal silver, etc that are recommended. I would want to know what populations are using the products, the effectiveness of the product,safety of the product in different populations, and where they are getting their information. Everyone is faced with a cold/flu bug from time to time and it would be interesting to see what supplements people are taking for prevention as well as to combat symptoms.
I would be interested in looking at weight loss supplements because they are such a huge seller in this country and there are so many varieties on the market that are not approved by the FDA. I am very wary of those supplements and would be interested to see how many adolescents take them. Also, I am curious about users of those supplements in general and whether they have actually had any weight loss results if they have been using those supplements for a longer period of time. More than that, I would want to know if those people have experienced any adverse side effects and what the prevalence of abuse for those supplements is.
I think the nutritional knowledge of the consumer would be interesting to see. Not only their knowledge about the supplement that they have in their hand at the grocery store but a short quiz on which foods contain which vitamin/mineral. Because if they had the knowledge then they might not need the supplement.
I agree with Melanie P, I feel more and more males are taking a protein supplement. I have whey protein at home and I use it for conveience to have a quick protein shake after a workout, but I agree that these supplements are not necessary.
I think Jamie has a good idea. It would be interesting to see what people are taking in order to enhance the immune system. It would also be interesting to determine where these individuals are getting their information from and what their knowledge of nutrition is.
I would honestly be interested in this same study done on an older population, such as middle aged adults to see if there are any different among the eating behaviors and the supplement use. I wonder if adult supplement users would be more likely to be the healthy-eating individuals than adolescents. I also would like to see the trends in herbal supplement use related to individuals’ reasons for consuming them because I believe people would have many different rationales for using these types of supplements.
I agree with Kathy in that I also think "super food"/antioxidant supplements would be a very interesting topic to research. I would especially like to find out which supplements are most popular, if these individuals who are taking them are more likely to also consume a healthful diet, and also these individuals' perceived benefits from these supplements.
I would like to know where people are getting their information and recommendations concerning if and what kind of supplements to use and give to their children. I would like to know if their doctor is involved in these decisions, and if the doctor knows the person is taking those particular supplements. I would like to know how much information they receive from the store where they purchase the supplements. I would also like to know whether the person thinks the supplements make them healthier or feel better, and in what way.
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Great questions! I would definitely look further into the "why" of consuming these dietary supplements. Rather than weight related reasons, I would be interested to see where the consumers received their source of information that led them to consume these supplements. Is it families, friends, television, magazines, peers?
I would be interested in examining the use of probiotics as well as "cleanses." I believe that many people use these avenues to supplement their diet, in the belief that they are improving their health. It would be interesting to research where people are getting their information/recommendations, as well as testing markers of improved health in these individuals. Depending who individuals trust for their information, they could be doing more harm to their health than good.
Meredith, I really like your idea of researching probiotic use and cleanses. Like Jamie, I worked at a health food store for a couple years and those were two of the hottest sellers... but many people seemed confused about how they would help them. I get the impression that these are used in place of a healthful diet that includes adequate fiber.
I would be interested in surveying doctors (assuming that many doctors suggest supplementation and this may be where the suggestions are coming from) and see how much education they give their patients when they suggest a supplement. I think many people blindly take supplements and I wonder if this could be a contributing factor. It would also be interesting to survey people and students taking supplements and ask how much information they researched or find out about the supplements before they started taking them and what resources they used to find this information?
I think it would be interesting to compare overall health (like how many times they are sick in a year and with what sickness) in students that consume multi-vitamins vs. students that do not. It would also be interesting to look at lab values of these students and compare differences.
SarahU-
I agree, I think this would be a great study. I would also like to know why these students chose to take these supplements or if they know some of the adverse health problems that could occurr.
Kathy-
This would be a really great study. These "superfruits" are so heavily advertised these days. It would be interesting to see if these are actually beneficial.
I would be interested in studying adults who consume vitamins for energy. Vitamin stores advertise packages of vitamins for daily use that increase energy. These vitamin packages are generally made up of B vitamins and I would be interested to see if people actually had more energy when taking the vitamins or if this was a placebo effect.
Kathy- very interesting! I would like to see a study like that as well.
Kara and Ross - I think looking at weight loss/diet pills would be interesting too! there is so much advertised today with these and we see them everywhere.
I would be interested in the used on herbal supplements as dietary supplements. I am most interested in their effectiveness rate and where individuals are getting their information about these alternative means.
Sarah G, I agree that weight control supplementation in high school students would be interesting to study. I bet you’re right that this population uses these more than college students.
Everyone has such great ideas! I think as future health professionals, we are always trying to help our friends, family and clients to separate fact from fiction when it comes to this issue. I think surveying doctors' beliefs on supplementation would be very interesting! Also, polling how many times a year students who take supplements are sick vs. those who don't. Ultimately, I believe government regulation may have to increase and become more strict in order for people to receive correct information on a regular basis.
I agree with Cathy it would be interesting to see who was interested in superfood supplements. I would be interested to see what their reasons for interest are as well as sources used.
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