University of Nebraska-Lincoln female varsity athletes are more likely to take nutritional supplements than their male counterparts, research shows.

Judy Driskell, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources nutritional scientist, graduate student Chad Krumbach and David Ellis, coordinator of performance nutrition for the university's athletic department, surveyed Cornhusker varsity athletes about their nutritional supplement-taking habits.

They found varsity women were about 2.5 times more likely than varsity men to take calcium and about 5 times more likely to take iron supplements.

"Women always hear they need to get more calcium and iron," Driskell said.

The study revealed men and women athletes take supplements for different reasons but found no significant ethnic differences, Driskell said.

Forty-three percent of men said they chose supplements for improving athletic performance, compared to about 19 percent of women.

Nearly 40 percent of females and more than 25 percent of males in the survey who don't take supplements cited adequate diets as their reason.

The study found varsity athletes on small Cornhusker teams tended to seek dietary advice from coaches or trainers. Football players tended to ask nutritionists. Driskell said this research shows the importance of nutritionists, coaches and trainers working together to share dietary advice with all varsity athletes.

Over 90 percent of Cornhusker varsity athletes participated in the study, including 145 females and 266 males. About 80 percent were Caucasian.

Driskell said she'd like to expand the research to other Big 12 universities.

NU's athletic department helped fund this research.

- Molly Klocksin