Why Do People Take Dietary Supplements And Who Is The Audience For Supplement Marketers?

The use of condition-specific supplements more than doubled between 1999 and 2005. There are two possible reasons for this increase:

•Consumers could be switching from single-nutrient supplements to treat and prevent health issues to combination and condition-specific formulas
•Americans are more confident of their ability to take care of their own health

Consumers may be switching from single-nutrient supplements to condition-specific formulas because it is an easier and less costly route toward one-stop shopping for health.

Dietary supplements are a way for Americans to self manage and treat specific health issues.

The prevention of specific health issues and medical conditions has become the number one reason why 57% of consumers took a vitamin-mineral supplement for the first time over the past 5 years.

I personally had a rise in triglycerides for the first time. Instead of a prescription drug my doctor elected to try a dietary supplement, Niacin, in the hopes of reducing the triglyceride level. At my last exam, apparently this supplement worked for me. My triglyceride level was lowered after 6 months of taking the dietary supplement of Niacin. It has been more cost effective than a prescription drug.

Young people are specifically interested in improving physical performance as a motivator for starting vitamin and mineral supplements. The number one reason for adults aged 18 to 29 years to go on a vitamin-mineral regimen or make a dietary change is to enhance performance. Weight control is the second reason.

There continues to be steady growth of the belief in vitamin-mineral supplements as an effective means of treating and preventing health problems and conditions.

There is also a growing concern about vitamin-mineral supplements interacting with prescription medications. Some people are dissatisfied about the quantity of pills taken and other people have difficulty swallowing pills.

Condition-Specific Supplements

Condition-specific supplements are the fastest growing sector of the supplement business. The use of vitamins E and C have dropped since the year 2000. Multivitamin sales continue to grow at a modest rate. Consumers still take vitamin-mineral supplements because they believe their diets lack vitamins and minerals. Calcium and Vitamin C are the most frequently taken vitamin supplements.

For those people who used a condition-specific supplement in 2005, joint pain was the most frequently mentioned condition, after that was for heart health, osteoporosis and arthritis. Also on the rise are vitamin and mineral supplements for osteoporosis and memory concentration.

In 2005, nearly half (44%) of all US supplements sold were for a specific health condition, such as arthritis, joint pain, heart health, osteoporosis, weight loss.

There were 14 conditions that account for 84% of the condition-specific supplement sales in 2005. The top two conditions consumers took condition-specific supplements for was sports/energy/weight/loss and general health. Other conditions include:

•Sports/energy/weight loss
•General health
•Joint health
•Cold/flu-immune
•Anticancer
•Heart health
•Bone health
•Gastrointestinal health
•Diabetes
•Menopause
•Brain mental
•Mood
•Sexual health
•Insomnia

The trend toward taking supplements for condition-specific reasons is expected to continue to grow. Baby Boomers now aged 42 to 60 years and the 72 million Generation Y members who will be the audiences for supplement marketers. Those who are not currently using a supplement say they are most likely to do so to prevent/treat arthritis.

As baby boomers begin to experience age-associated conditions for the first time, they are most likely to opt for supplements directed at particular conditions such as arthritis, cholesterol, wrinkles, eye health, and hypertension.

Source: Nutrition Today, Volume 42, Number 2, March/April 2007

Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. Article written 4-2007.

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