Dietary Supplements service members are using in Afghanistan and why they use them

Military service in Afghanistan is a stressful experience and service members may use Dietary supplements (DS) to cope with demands of deployment to combat. In 2010, we conducted an anonymous, voluntary survey of DS intake, demographic/lifestyle factors, and reasons for use in a convenience sample of service members in Afghanistan. A total of 260 questionnaires were completed (78% Army; 78% male). Most service members (72%) used at least one DS a week, with 25% using 5 or more per week. Among males, the most popular DS were multi‐ or megavitamins/minerals (MVI/Mega) (46%), protein powders/drinks (44%), and nitric oxide boosting DS (43%). Males most often used vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (AO) to promote general health (67, 48, and 75% of MVI/Mega, calcium, and AO users, respectively). Males frequently used protein powders/drinks, creatine, and amino acids to increase muscle strength (58, 67, 46%, respectively) and/or to enhance performance (19, 15, 21%, respectively). Nitric oxide DS were used to increase energy (41%) and muscle strength (35%). As expected, males consumed weight/fat loss DS primarily to lose weight (65%), but 25% cited increased energy as a benefit of weight/fat loss DS. Deployed service members regularly use DS, and many use multiple DS concurrently; DS are used for many reasons, some of which have little to no scientific justification. (Support: US Army Medical Research & Materiel Command)