名古屋学芸大学健康 ･ 栄養研究所年報

創刊号

２００７年

《Original Article》

A Dietary supplement survey of people living in a residential
district in Nagoya CityHisashi Susaki＊, Shizuno Ishida＊ and Katsumi Yamanaka＊

SummaryThe demand for supplements is notably increasing, however there are no regular assessments regarding
appropriate usage of such supplements; therefore, some cases exist where consumers may harm their health.
For this reason, we researched and analyzed the relationship between type and frequency of usage of supplements along with people’s diet considerations to discover what is necessary in order to use supplements in anappropriate way.
Our research target group was 286 residents (109 Male, 177 female) in Showa-ward, Nagoya City. The
percentage of males using supplements was 36.7% and females 50.3%. Within the groups using supplements,
the highest number was those using supplements daily for more than two years.
The main reasons for using supplements were; nutritional replenishment, sickness prevention, and additionally, for females, beauty treatment and age prevention. Concerning the relation to diet, the number ofpeople who missed meals within the female group (of those taking supplements) was inevitably high. Taking
the above into consideration, we understand that further research is required in order to discover the exact
relationship between taking supplements and missing meals.

In recent years, the market growth of health food and supplementation (in this thesis, we define supplements as vitamins and minerals in tablet or capsule form i.e. not food form) has been remarkable. According
to The Annual Report on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Tokyo published in 20051), the annual
consumption of health food exceeded ¥15,000 for each household.
In addition, in 20032) the market of health food including food for specific health reasons exceeded 1trillion yen. According to The National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan, 20013) approximately 20% ofpeople were taking more than one type of supplement (vitamin or mineral). The most cited reason being “illnessprevention, health improvement” or “nutritional replenishment”
In order to decrease the risk of lifestyle related illnesses, and maintain a good quality of life, it is fundamental to keep a daily and regular well balanced diet. However, it must be said, that due to the reliance ofsupplements people fail to maintain a fundamentally healthy diet and thus, we have a clear case of “‘putting
the cart before the horse”. One report4) shows that by taking supplements we are more likely to eat healthy
food (vegetables, fish and dairy products etc). Conversely according to a survey of female university students
taking supplements 5), those on a diet and the number consuming foods in retort packages is undoubtedly high.

＊ School of Nutritional Sciences, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences
57 Takenoyama, Iwasaki cho, Nisshin, Aichi 470-0196 Japan27

Thus, in recent years, investigation into the actual conditions relating to supplements has taken place. However,
it is not clear whether or not people who need supplements are taking the correct ones and whether those who
are taking supplements are actually achieving their goals appropriately. On the other hand, a few cases exist
where health is harmed due to health food consumption6). Under these circumstances, it is necessary to urgently
analyze the usage of supplements.
It is therefore necessary to collect various characteristics from different groups, to allow further understanding of peoples’ eating and lifestyle habits, in order to be able to give advice on adequate health foodand supplement usage. Therefore, our aim was to focus on one target area to find out the actual conditions ofsupplement usage and in addition we also considered the relationship between their aim and level of satisfaction and their eating habits. From this study, we can establish some data to ensure appropriate usage of healthfoods and supplements.

Method1 Target group and time of research.
Our target group was 286 health conscious residents in Showa-ward, Nagoya City.
For this survey we explained in advance to a representative our aim, methodology and how we will use
the data, for which we received agreement. For the participants, we defined our intention in a research paper,and we asked those who agreed to return the research paper. The survey took place in August 2005.
2Research Method
An anonymous open questionnaire survey was conducted.
The nominated representative was responsible for the distribution and collection of the surveys. The

number of questionnaires received was 298 and the retrieval rate was 100%.
Within the 298 returned papers, we removed the spoiled papers and were left with a total sample of 294
questionnaires. The valid response rate was 98.7%.
3Research content(1) Concerning eating habits: Looking forward to meals, Food appreciation, Food satisfaction, Tendency

to miss meals, cooking pleasure, food type often eaten, nutritive content interest etc Total 14 headings.
(2)

Condition of use of supplement: Supplement usage, Frequency of use, purpose of use, place ofpurchase etc Total 7 headings4Method analysis: Bivariate analysis was carried out by chi-square test to determine the statistical dif-ference between the two groups. Analysis was performed using the SPSS(Statistical Package for the SocialSciences)14.0J for Windows. The level of significance was set at p<0.05.

Results1

Condition of use of supplement
The total number of those surveyed was 286.
As shown in Table 1 gender and age distribution; the number of males under 39 years was 13 and thenumber of females was 27. Between 40-49 years old, the number of males was 13 and females 17. Between
50-59 years old, the number of males was 21 and females 34. Between 60-69 years old, the number of males
was 26 and females 45. Over 70 years old, the number of males was 36 and females 54.
The number of participants using supplements was 40 males and 89 females – as a percentage 36.7%

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A Dietary supplement survey of people living in a residential district in Nagoya City(males) and 50.2% (females) including those who have used in the past is hereinafter the same. The tendency
for females was higher, however, for both males and females there was no marked difference depending on
the age range.
There is no noticeable difference between the sexes when we consider the duration time of using supplements, however, for both male and female more than half of them have been using them for two years. As
people age, the proportion of those using supplements increased.
TABLE 1 Condition of use supplements by sex, by age
malefemale

durationfrequency

kind ofsupplements

durationfrequency

kind ofsupplements

persons using
more thansupplements
2 years(%)

every day1 or 2 sorts

Numberpersons usingsupplements(%)

more than
2 years

every day1 or 2 sorts

Numberless than
39 years

135 (38.5)

344

2718 (66.7)

8

12

12

40–49
years

136 (46.2)

166

1710 (58.8)

3

5

10

50–59
years

21

5 (23.9)

2

3

4

34

18 (52.9)

8

12

13

60–69
years

26

9 (34.6)

2

8

7

45

15 (33.3)

11

12

13

70 yearsand over36

15 (30.1)

8

11

12

54

28 (51.9)

13

19

21

total

109

40 (36.7)

16

32

33

177

89 (50.2)

43

60

79

No. of people

Concerning the frequency of using supplements; there was no major distinction between the different age
groups. For all age groups within the supplement users, the rate of people taking supplements daily was 80%
for males and 67% for females.
For both gender and age, once again, there was no major difference concerning the number of supplements
they take. For both sexes the highest percentage was shown for those taking one or two types of supplements
given as 82.5% for males and 77.5% for females.
Table 2 shows the purpose of supplement use depending on gender and age. For both sexes the mostfrequently given reasons were for preventing illness and for nutritional replenishment, however for females
under 39 years old the percentage for supplementation for beauty treatment was high.
TABLE 2 Reasons of taking supplements by sex, by age
male
supply of
Numbernutritions

beautyfemaleprevention medicalof disease treatment

anti
ageng

otherssupply of
Numbernutritions

beautyprevention medicalof disease treatment

anti
ageng

othersless than
39 years

540000

1

18

118

4000

40–49
years

6203

2

10

10512

100

50–59
years

510311018931004060–69years

95070101551704170 years
and over15609231285019471total

40

180225628935

1342515229

Table 3 shows where people purchase their supplements, for both gender and age groups; for both males
and females (within supplement users) the highest response was from a pharmacy, male 51.3% and female
40.9% and the second highest response was mail order with males 28.2% and females 27.3%.
2 The relationship between the usage of supplements and people’s diet habits; To compare and study whether
there is any difference in diet habits between those using supplements and those not, we separated users andnon users and divided them into male and female groups. We then examined the relationship between eachgroups’ diet habits. Table 4 shows the results.
TABLE 3 Methods of getting supplements by sex, by age
malefemale

doorhealthdrugstore
mail order to-door
food store
selling

doorhealthmail order to-door
food store
selling

volumeretailerothersNumberdoctors

drugstore

02318092630201016211100

180

723102151

6Number

doctorsless than
39 years

5030

140-49years

60

2050-59years

50260-69
years

912

volumeretailerothers

1

30

1000

18

1044

3

11

170 years
and over

15

3112

30

1128

68

6

6

1

13

total

40

4

20

5

11

2

5689

836

15

24

4

58

We asked the following questions;(1) Do you look forward to your meal? (2) Are you satisfied with your meal? (3) Do you ever miss a meal?
(4) Do you like cooking? (5) Did you cook your breakfast yesterday? (6) Did you cook your lunch yesterday?
(7) Did you cook your dinner yesterday? (8) Do you often eat fruit? and (9) Do you often eat between meals?
The items were answered with a yes and no response and the supplement usage percentage calculated according
to both male and female groups in accordance with the given c2 factor value. No special relationship could
be found for the male group. For the female group, for those missing meals and having not cooked lunch athome we observed the number of supplement users as inevitably high.

Disccussion
According to The National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan, 2001. For people taking one or two typesof the following, tablets, capsules, powders, drink types of vitamin and minerals; 17% of males and 23.6%of females answered in the affirmative and half of these respondents have been taking these supplements formore than two years.
This survey shows male users as 36.7% and female users as 50.3% and compared to 2001, both maleand female users are higher in number. For those using more than two years the number is also at its highest,
and this shows how far supplements have been established. According to the growth rate of the supplement
market, from now on, we suggest the percentage of users will increase. Above all, we expect young females
using supplements with the aim of beauty treatment to increase. As shown in Table 2, the main reasons for use
for females were nutritional replenishment and preventing illness with the additional reasons of age prevention
and beauty treatment.
There is some research referring to whether there is some relationship to dietary habits between users andnon-users. Kayama et al 7) researched the relationship between the usage of supplements and dietary behavior

30311) Number of people (%)

Do you often eat between meals?

Do you eat fruit often?

Previous day’s dinner

Previous day’s lunch

Previous day’s breakfast

Do you like cooking?

Do you have a tendancy to miss a meal?

Meal satisfaction

Do you look forward to meals?

ITEM

72 (100)
37 (100)No

9 (100)NoYes

100 (100)

4 (100)Prepared outsideYes

105 (100)

36 (100)

Prepared outside

Home cooked

73 (100)

13 (100)

Prepared outside

Home cooked

96 (100)

93 (100)

DislikeHome cooked

16 (100)

91 (100)

NoLike18 (100)

19 (100)

Not satsified

Yes

90 (100)

25 (100)

No

Satisfied

84 (100)1)

Yes

Category

13 (35.1)

27 (37.5)

4 (44.4)

36 (36.0)

1 (25.0)39 (37.1)

12 (33.3)

28 (38.4)

3 (23.1)

37 (38.5)

37 (39.8)

3 (18.8)

32 (35.2)

8 (44.4)

7 (36.8)

33 (36.7)

9 (36.0)31 (36.9)

24 (64.9)

45 (62.5)5 (55.6)

64 (64.0)

3 (75.0)66 (62.9)

24 (66.7)

45 (61.6)

10 (76.9)

59 (61.5)

56 (60.2)

13 (81.2)

59 (64.8)

10 (55.6)

12 (63.2)

57 (63.3)

16 (64.0)

53 (63.2)NO

p=0.808c2=0.059

p=0.615c2=0.253

p=0.621c2=0.245

p=0.609c2=0.262

p=0.278c2=1.179

p=0.107c2=2.600

p=0.455

c2=0.557

p=0.988c2=0.000p=0.934c2=0.007

No

Yes

No

Yes

Prepared outside

Home cooked

Prepared outside

Home cooked

Prepared outside

Home cooked

DislikeLike

Not satsified

Yes

Not satsified

SatisfiedNo

Yes

Category
121 (100)

30 (100)

147 (100)

7 (100)170 (100)

14 (100)

163 (100)

37 (100)

140 (100)

15 (100)

162 (100)113 (100)64 (100)

150 (100)

27 (100)

45 (100)

132 (100)

56 (100)

15 (50.0.)74 (50.3)

3 (42.9)

86 (50.6)

9 (64.3)

80 (49.1)

25 (67.6)

64 (45.7)

9 (60.0)80 (49.4)

61 (54.0)

28 (43.8)

70 (46.7)

19 (70.4)

23 (51.1)

66 (50.0)28 (50.0)61 (50.4)

YES

15 (50.0)73 (49.7)

4 (57.1)

84 (49.4)

5 (35.7)

83 (50.9)

12 (32.4)

76 (54.3)

6 (40.0)82 (50.6)

52 (46.0)

36 (56.2)

80 (53.3)

8 (29.6)

22 (48.9)66 (50.0)28 (50.0)60 (49.6)

NOUse of supplements

Use of supplements
YES

femalemale

TABLE 4 Use and non-use of supplements and the relationship to diet

p=0.973c2=0.001

p=0.688c2=0.161

p=0.275c2=1.192

p=0.018c2=5.591

p=0.431c2=0.619

p=0.191c2=1.711

p=0.023c2=5.143

p=0.898c2=0.017

p=0.959c2=0.003

A Dietary supplement survey of people living in a residential district in Nagoya City

and attitude of university students. For males participating in sports club activities, the number of supplement
users saying they ate instant food was less than those not using supplements and there were a high number of
those using supplements who were concerned with nutritional balance. This research shows there are many
supplement users who have an understanding of both dietary behavior and attitude. On the other hand, Sugiyama
et al.5) reported that for female university students, within the supplement user groups, the frequency of usingretort packed and instant food was high. Relating the health condition, there is a higher demand for supplementswith those people who are have a more acute subjective view to their health condition.9)
In this survey, results show that within the female group, those responding with the habit of missing meals
and not cooking lunch the previous day is undoubtedly high.
Supplement users may believe that supplements compensate for the lack of nutritional content of themissed meals. This, we need to further investigate hereafter. Similarly by not cooking their lunch at home, thatis eating out, supplement users may believe they can substitute the nutritional content by using supplements.
Concerning where people purchase their supplements, the pharmacy was the highest response, however
mail order was also high, from now on and the numbers of cases where people buy supplements from seeing
indifferent advertisements will increase. The use of supplements should be based on a healthy diet as opposed
to consumption according to such advertising. It is hoped we can train advisers who are accessible to consult
with on the appropriate usage of supplements and healthy diet; and from now on it is necessary to research
and analyze in various groups the relationship between those using supplements and their diet habits and howpeople may use supplements more appropriately.
We wish to acknowledge and express our deepest gratitude to Kana Sakakibara a graduate student andalso to the residents of Showa-ward, Nagoya City, for their cooperation and understanding of this research.

References
1

Annual Report on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey 2005 Tokyo Published by Japan Statistical Association

2

Shimizu Toshio: Present condition of food with nutrient functions in Japan. J. Jpn. Clin. nutr. 2004; 105: 44-49

3The National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan, 2003 Tokyo Published by Daiitisyuppan 2003 p50-51

4Beitz R, Mensink G,B,M. Hintzpeter B.Fisher B,et al. Do users of dietary supplements differ from nonusers in their foodconsumption? Eur. J. Epidemiol. 2004; 19: 335-341

5Sugiyama S, Kamimoto K, and Ishinaga M,Dietary supplement use and health-related behavior in female college students. J.
Jpn. Soc. Nutr. Food Sci. 2002; 55: 97-103

6Nakatsuka Shoko, Nomoto Masahiro Harmful health influences of Health food. Japan Medical Journal 2005 4225 23-25

7

Kayama Y, Inada S, Muraki E, et al. Relationship between dietary supplements and the eating behavior and attitudes ofcollege athletes and pharmaceutical sciences students. Jpn. J. Nutr. Diet. 2006; 64(3): 173-183

9Bender MM, Levy AS, Schucker RE, et al. Trends in prevalence and magnitude of vitamin and mineral supplement usage
and correlation with health status. 1991; 92(9); 1096-1101

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A Dietary supplement survey of people living in a residential district in Nagoya City

和文抄録

地域住民におけるサプリメント使用状況
須崎＊尚石田静乃＊

山中＊克己

サプリメントの需要が著しく増加するなか、適切な使用がなされているかどうかは、一定の評価がなされておらず、中には少なからず健康被害が生ずる例もある。そこで、適切なサプリメントの使用のために何が必要かを知るために、サプリメント使用の実態とサプリメントの使用の有無と食生活習慣との関連を調査し分析した。
調査対象は、名古屋市内の T 地区の住民286名（男性109名、女性177名）である。サプリメント使用者は男性36.7％、女性50.3％であり、使用者は2年以上ほぼ毎日使用している者が最も多かった。
目的は栄養補給、病気の予防に加え、女性で美容、老化防止が多かった。食生活習慣との関連では、女性群でサプリメント使用者に欠食習慣のあるものが有意に多かった。サプリメントと欠食習慣の関連については、さらに詳細な検討を深める必要がある。

＊名古屋学芸大学

管理栄養学部管理栄養学科

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