Abstract
A total of 362 high school students were surveyed on supplement use, attitudes regarding supplements, information sources, and physical activity. Seventy-four percent of students used some type of supplement; 47.3% used vitamin C, the most reported traditional supplement; and 20.5% used ginseng, the most reported nontraditional supplement. Forty-eight percent of adolescents were introduced to supplements by their family and 52% took supplements for good health. Eighty-five percent of adolescents with a body mass index for age at the 85th percentile or greater used supplements to decrease weight and body fat. There was a direct correlation between the number of supplements used and the number of team sports an adolescent played (r = 0.12, P = .03).