Palm Springs, CA—Today at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)’s The Conference, CRN released some findings from the 2015 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements.

One key finding was that even with negative media reports circulating widely, 68% of U.S. adults say they take dietary supplements, and 84% are confident in their safety, quality and effectiveness. Respondents were most confident in “Vitamins & Minerals” category (85%).  This category also had the most usage among those surveyed.

Two categories had 5% more usage in the 2015 survey compared to the year before. These were “Herbals & Botanicals” and “Sports Nutrition & Weight Management.”

Multivitamins continue to be the most popular supplement to take, with 79% of male and 77% of female reporting use. The next most common supplements to take were vitamin D, vitamin C and calcium.

Data were also separated out by age and gender. Men of all ages are equally as likely to use supplements, with 66% of those over 55, 66% of those 34-54 years and 64% of those 18-34 years taking supplements. Women, however, are more likely to increase their supplement usage with age. Some 77% of those over 55 years took supplements, while 71% of those ages 34-54 years took supplements. Eighteen- to 34-year-old women had the lowest supplements usage at 65%.

The 2015 survey data were collected online Aug. 20–24 by Ipsos Public Affairs and was funded by CRN. The respondents included 2,016 adults ages 18 and older from Ipsos’ U.S. online panel. This is the 16^th straight year this survey has been conducted.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, December 2015 (online 10/23/15)