Dietary supplementers’ dietary descriptions, lifestyles and personal values

Abstract

One thousand adults were randomly selected from the population of metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, to receive a mail survey on the dietary beliefs, lifestyle and personal values associated with dietary supplementation practices. The response rate was 78%. Over one half of the women and one third of the men were regular users of dietary supplements, and a further ten percent of the respondents of both sexes used supplements irregularly. Multivariate and contingency table analyses revealed the following main findings. Female regular supplementers considered their diets to be more natural and less artificial than the others. Non supplemented were less concerned about the nutritional consequences of their diets and they consumed fewer novel foods and meals than the supplementers. The irregular and regular supplementers reported more active lifestyles and had encountered more financial and employment difficulties than non supplementers. Finally, the regular supplementers evaluated social conformity valu...