Dietary diversity and supplement use among nursing students

Abstract

Introduction: Poor nutrition causes many chronic diseases in developed and developing countries. Dietary diversity is one indicator that reflects the state of the whole diet. Aim: The study aimed to determine the diet diversity and supplement usage of nursing students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Material and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 185 nursing students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, participated, and the classification (relative) method was used. Information was collected through questionnaires completed in interviews. The questionnaires had three parts: Demographic data, dietary diversity score (DDS; food frequency questionnaire), and supplement usage. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Results and discussion: The results indicated that the average consumption rates of items from the five main food groups were 0.91 ± 0.24 scores (bread and cereals), 1.3 ± 0.49 (meat), 0.84 ± 0.59 (dairy), 0.53 ± 0.35 (cereals and vegetables), and 1.01 ± 0.58 (fruits). The findings showed that the average consumption rates of the different food categories were not similar. According to an evaluation by Kant (maximum score of 10), the average overall DDS of students was 4.60 ± 1.37 scores, which is undesirable. The highest percentage of deficiency was related to vegetables (73.67), while the lowest percentage of deficiency was related to meats (34.73). Conclusions: Using DDSs is a good way to determine the diet of various communities in terms of nutritional value, and it can help predict diet adequacy. In cases of insufficient dietary diversity and supplement usage, educating people on how to follow a healthy diet is critically important for disease prevention.