Prevalence Of Dietary Supplements Use And Dietary Practices Among Teachers In Public Secondary Schools In Kikuyu, Kiambu County, Kenya

The dietary supplements market is growing at an alarming rate despite dietary source being acknowledged as the primary and priority source of nutrients. Kenya’s dietary supplements market has experienced a steady growth since 2009 owing to increasingly busy lifestyles, growing health consciousness and disposable income among the general population. Little has been documented about use of dietary supplements in Kenya despite their increase in popularity. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of dietary supplements use and dietary practices among teachers in public secondary schools in Kikuyu, Kiambu County. Teachers were chosen to represent the general population because it’s a homogeneous group, with average Kenyan income, evenly distributed across the country and hence opinion shapers in the community. The study adopted cross-sectional analytical study design with qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection, analysis and presentation. Researcher administered questionnaire and key informant interview guides were used to elicit information from the participants. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 178 teachers from 17 public secondary schools located in Kikuyu SubCounty while purposive sampling was used to select a sample of the key informants. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Data from the 24 hour dietary recall was analyzed using Nutri-survey to obtain specific nutrients consumed. A P-value of Ksh 50,000 (53.9%). Out of the possible 14 food groups, the mean DDS was 7.42 ± 1.40. The mean intakes for vitamin A, B6, iron and zinc (2300±4432, 1.43 ± 0.69; 28.39 ± 24.7; 14.40 ± 5.30 respectively) were found adequate as opposed to those of vitamin C, D and E as well as calcium (55.30 ± 27.09; 6.906 ± 4.59; 10.12 ± 5.697 and 703.04 ± 420.87 respectively) that fell below the RNIs. Consumption patterns showed high intake of starchy staples with rice and ugali having the highest intakes. There was moderate intake of proteins with high consumption of animal source foods while consumption of fruits and vegetables was low and moderate respectively. The prevalence of dietary supplements use was 28.7% with the most commonly consumed supplements being omega 3 and 6 (60.8%), calcium (56.9%) and multivitamins (19.6%).