Various nutritional supplements have become available in recent years. However, health problems resulting from the misuse of these supplements are on the rise, and have been attributed to a lack of knowledge among consumers. In addition, a survey of university students revealed that approximately 20% of students erroneously considered nutritionally balanced supplements as substitutes for meals. Given this background, we conducted a questionnaire survey of first- and fourth-year students at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kobe Gakuin University with the objective of elucidating factors such as the awareness of supplements among pharmacy students and whether these students had a superior understanding of supplements compared to the general student population. Awareness of supplements among students was determined in terms of the degrees of emphasis on meals and supplements in nutritional intake. The proportion of students who essentially believed that “nutritionally balanced supplements can be used as substitutes for meals” did not significantly differ between pharmacy students and the general student population. In addition, only 30% of students had an accurate understanding of supplements. Following graduation, pharmacy students may become pharmacists and thus be responsible for providing directions regarding usage of supplements. These findings suggest that in order to nurture professional pharmacists, it is necessary to first implement practical nutrition education and consumer education to promote healthier dietary habits among the students themselves.
