Washington, DC—The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has released their 2018 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, and it shows increased usage of and trust in supplements.
The survey included a national sample of 2,004 adults aged 18 and over, 1,504 of which were considered supplement users. The poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for all respondents, and plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for supplement users.
Use of dietary supplements has increased ten percent over the past decade, for a total of 75% of U.S. adults. Brian Wommack, senior vice president of communications at CRN, said that the survey provides “further evidence that dietary supplements are mainstays in modern day health and wellness regimens.” It also, he says, “speaks to society’s shift toward a more holistic, personalized approach to healthcare.”
Moreover, 87% of U.S. adults have overall confidence in the safety, quality, and effectiveness of dietary supplements, which is up from 84% in 2009. 78% of Americans perceive the dietary supplement industry as being trustworthy, which is up five percent from 2016, when the question of trustworthiness first appeared on the survey.
Supplement users are more likely to engage in healthy habits than non-users, as measured in whether or not people exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, visit doctors regularly, and get a good night’s sleep.
Vitamin and mineral supplements remain the most popular category, but 41% of supplement users reported that they had taken herbals or botanicals in the past twelve months, up from 28% in 2013. Turmeric was the second most popular supplement in the herbal/botanical category, as opposed to five years ago, when it wasn’t on the survey at all.
78% of adults aged 55+ take dietary supplements. Nearly half of them take vitamin D, a quarter take magnesium, and a little more than a quarter take healthy aging, heart health, or bone health supplements.
77% of adults aged 35-54 take supplements. 42% take herbal/botanical supplements, up 5% from last year, and 31% look for immune health supplements.
69% of adults aged 18-34 take supplements. 83% of them take a multivitamin, and 20% take a fiber supplement. 37% of them cite energy as their reason for taking supplements.
The CRN was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1973. It represents over 150 dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. They will continue to release data from the survey over the next 12 months.
