WHO TAKES DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS?

71%
of U.S. ADULTS take dietary supplements.
What else do we know about the American
dietary supplement consumer?

77% 65% 74% 70%

of U.S. of U.S. of adults with of adults
adult women adult men children in without children
household in household

70% 70% 74%

of adults of adults of adults
age 18-34 age 35-54 age 55+

74% 67% 74% 68%

of adults with of adults with of adult of adults
income > $50K income < $50K college grads without a
college degree

75% 72% 72% 67%

of adults of retired of adults of adults
employed adults employed not employed
part-time full-time

75% 73% 69% 69%

of adults of adults in of adults of adults
in the West the Midwest in the South in the
Northeast

All data comes from the 2016 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, conducted Aug. 24–30 by Ipsos Public Affairs
and was funded by CRN. The survey was conducted online in English and included a national sample of 2,007 adults aged
18 and older living in the United States, including 1,430 among those who are considered supplement users. The survey has
been conducted annually since 2000. The precision of Ipsos online polls are measured using a credibility interval. In this case,
the poll has a credibility interval of +/- 2.5 percentage points for all respondents, and +/- 3.0 percentage points for supple-
ment users. For more information, visit: www.crnusa.org/ConsumerSurvey SOURCE: Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
 WHAT DO THEY TAKE?
97%
of dietary supplement users
take vitamins/minerals

VITAMINS/MINERALS 97%
WHY DO THEY
MULTIVITAMINS 75%
TAKE THEM?
SPECIALTY SUPPLEMENTS 49% Top Reasons
VITAMIN D 37%
HERBALS/BOTANICALS
VITAMIN C
36%
34%
42%
OVERALL HEALTH/
CALCIUM 29% WELLNESS BENEFITS

SPORTS NUTRITION/WEIGHT MGMT

VITAMIN B/B COMPLEX
29%
24% 30%
ENERGY
OMEGA-3/FATTY ACIDS 20%
FIBER
PROTEIN (POWDERS, DRINKS, BARS)
16%
15%
28%
TO FILL IN NUTRIENT GAPS
PROBIOTICS 13%
GREEN TEA 13% 23%
IMMUNE HEALTH
GLUCOSAMINE AND/OR CHONDROITIN 10%
ENERGY DRINKS AND/OR GELS 10% 22%
CRANBERRY 9% BONE HEALTH

GARLIC 9% 21%
MELATONIN 8% HEART HEALTH

GINSENG 8%
20%
TURMERIC 7% HEALTHY AGING
HYDRATION DRINKS OR GELS 7%
19%
CREATINE 7% SKIN, HAIR AND NAILS
GINKGO BILOBA 6%
17%
ECHINACEA 6%
DIGESTIVE/
AMINO ACIDS 6% GASTROINTESTINAL HEALTH

GREEN COFFEE 5% 17%

RECOVERY DRINKS AND/OR POWDERS 5% JOINT HEALTH
 WHO TAKES WHAT?
77% of U.S. adult women and 65% of U.S. adult men take dietary supplements.
Certain supplements skew more toward women’s use or men’s use, and some
skew older, some younger, as shown here from data on select supplements.

77% 65%
of U.S. women of U.S. men
take supplements take supplements

FEMALE MALE
VITAMIN D PROBIOTICS CREATINE GINSENG
41%
of female 32%
supplement of male
users supplement 16% 10% 13% 12%
users of female
supplement of male
of male
supplement
3% of male 5%
of female supplement of female
users supplement users supplement users supplement
users
users users

74% of U.S. adults over 55 years old and 70% of adults in the 18–34 and
35–54 year-old age groups take dietary supplements. Vitamin D skews older, with
43% of supplement users over 55 taking this nutrient, while protein skews younger.

74% 70% 70%

of U.S. adults of U.S. adults of U.S. adults
age 55+ age 35-54 age18-34
take supplements take supplements take supplements

OLDER
YOUNGER
VITAMIN D TURMERIC FIBER PROTEIN

43%
55+ 35% 32%
35–54
18–34
21% 18% 22%
18–34 16%
9% 6% 5%
18–34
35–54 9% 35–54 9%
55+ 35–54 55+ 55+
18–34
WHERE DO SUPPLEMENT USERS BUY?
The 71% of U.S. adults who take dietary supplements purchase these products via a variety of channels.
Here are the top five* places supplement users buy from:

42% mass merchandisers

38% drug stores/pharmacies

23% warehouse clubs*

23% supermarkets*

17% internet

16% vitamin retailers/chain health food stores

*warehouse clubs and supermarkets tied

WHO DO THEY TRUST?

These are the top five* sources supplement users trust for reliable information on dietary supplements:

medical doctors/physicians
56%
42%
nutritionists

40%
pharmacists

28%
physician assistants*

28%
nurse practitioners*

27%
registered dietitians

*physician assistants and nurse practitioners tied