Medical disclaimer
This page reports public-health and supplement-industry statistics. It is not medical advice. Do not start, stop, or change any supplement or medication based on this page. Talk to a licensed clinician about your individual health.
US Supplement Industry Size
$59.9 billion#1 estimated US dietary supplement consumer sales in 2023, with growth projected through 2026.
$177 billion#2 projected global dietary supplement market value by 2025 across all channels.
90,000+#3 dietary supplement products on the US market, by FDA estimates.
Source: FDA Dietary Supplements overview
4,000#4 approximate number of new dietary supplement products introduced to the US market each year.
DSHEA 1994#5 the federal law (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act) governing US supplement regulation, which classifies supplements as foods rather than drugs.
Source: NIH ODS DSHEA reference
$13.4 billion#6 US sports nutrition and weight-management supplement segment in 2023.
5.6%#7 compound annual growth rate of US supplement sales 2018-2023.
$8 billion+#8 US herbal and botanical supplement segment, with elderberry, turmeric, and ashwagandha among top sellers.
~$8.6 billion#9 US protein and meal-replacement powder retail segment in 2023.
Source: Nutrition Business Journal 2024
23%#10 of US supplement sales now occur through Amazon and other online marketplaces, up from 8% in 2015.
Adult Usage Rates by Demographic
58.5%#11 of US adults aged 20+ reported using any dietary supplement in the past 30 days, NHANES 2017-March 2020.
63.8%#12 of US women aged 20+ used a dietary supplement, versus 50.8% of men, in NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
80.5%#13 of US women aged 60+ reported any dietary supplement use, the highest of any demographic group in NHANES.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
68.2%#14 of US men aged 60+ reported any dietary supplement use in NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
34.9%#15 US supplement use rate among adults aged 20-39, the lowest adult age group.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
37.8%#16 of US children and adolescents (under 20) used a dietary supplement in the prior 30 days.
68.4%#17 of non-Hispanic white US adults reported supplement use, the highest of any race or ethnicity group.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
41.0%#18 of non-Hispanic Black US adults reported supplement use in NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
39.5%#19 of Hispanic US adults reported supplement use in NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
36.3%#20 of US adults reported using two or more dietary supplements concurrently in NHANES.
Source: CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 399
74%#22 of US adults reported taking dietary supplements in the 2023 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements.
92%#23 of US supplement users say they trust the safety, quality, and effectiveness of supplements, per CRN's 2023 survey.
Source: CRN Consumer Survey 2023
52%#24 of US Generation Z adults (18-26) report supplement use, lower than older cohorts.
Source: CRN Consumer Survey 2023
85%#25 of US adults aged 55+ report taking at least one dietary supplement, per CRN survey self-report.
Source: CRN Consumer Survey 2023
Most-Supplemented Categories
36%#26 of US adults reported using a multivitamin/multimineral product, the most prevalent single supplement category.
27%#27 of US adults reported using a single-ingredient vitamin D supplement, NHANES 2017-March 2020.
20%#28 of US adults reported using a vitamin C supplement, NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: NIH ODS Vitamin C fact sheet
16%#31 of US adults reported using an omega-3 or fish oil supplement.
11%#32 of US adults reported using a probiotic supplement, with use rising fastest among adults aged 30-49.
9%#33 of US adults reported using a vitamin B12 supplement, NHANES 2017-March 2020.
Source: NIH ODS Vitamin B12 fact sheet
7%#35 of US adults reported using an iron supplement, with prevalence highest among reproductive-age women.
Source: NIH ODS Iron fact sheet
12%#36 of US pregnant women reported using a prenatal multivitamin in the past 30 days; 70%+ during pregnancy itself per NHANES subset.
2,000 IU#37 the most common labeled dose for over-the-counter vitamin D3 in the US, exceeding the RDA of 600-800 IU.
Source: NIH ODS Vitamin D fact sheet
~12%#38 of US adults take both fish oil and a multivitamin concurrently, the most common stack pattern in NHANES.
~6%#39 of US adults take a turmeric/curcumin supplement, the highest-prevalence single botanical product.
Source: ABC HerbalGram market report 141
12,000+#40 peer-reviewed PubMed studies on omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular outcomes through 2025.
Source: PubMed search results
FDA Adverse Event Reporting
CFSAN CAERS#41 the FDA database that collects adverse event reports for dietary supplements, foods, and cosmetics.
Source: FDA CAERS overview
2007#42 the year mandatory serious adverse event reporting for dietary supplements took effect under the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act.
Source: FDA DSNDCPA reference
23,000+#43 dietary-supplement-related adverse event reports submitted to the FDA's CAERS database from 2004 through 2023.
Source: FDA CAERS quarterly data files
~23,000#44 US emergency department visits per year are attributable to adverse events from dietary supplements, per Geller et al. NEJM 2015.
~2,150#45 of those US emergency department visits result in hospitalization annually, per the same NEJM analysis.
Source: Geller et al., NEJM 2015
~28%#46 of supplement-related ER visits in the Geller analysis involved adults aged 20-34, often from weight-loss or energy products.
Source: Geller et al., NEJM 2015
~20%#47 of supplement-related ER visits among adults 65+ involved swallowing problems with large supplement pills.
Source: Geller et al., NEJM 2015
776#48 dietary supplements identified by the FDA as adulterated with hidden pharmaceutical ingredients between 2007 and 2016.
~85%#49 of FDA-identified adulterated supplements in the JAMA analysis fell into three categories: sexual enhancement, weight loss, and muscle building.
FTC#50 Federal Trade Commission shares supplement-marketing enforcement authority with the FDA, focusing on deceptive health claims.
$1.4 million#51 FTC settlement against a major immune-support supplement marketer in 2023 for unsupported claims.
Quality & Certification (NSF, USP)
21 CFR 111#52 the FDA's current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulation for dietary supplements, in effect since 2007.
~57%#53 of FDA dietary supplement manufacturer inspections found at least one cGMP violation, per FDA fiscal year inspection summaries.
800+#54 dietary supplement products certified to NSF/ANSI 173, NSF's standard for content and contaminant testing.
NSF Certified for Sport#55 the NSF program testing supplements for 290+ banned-in-sport substances, used by MLB, NFL, NHL, PGA, and CCES Canada.
USP Verified#56 the US Pharmacopeia voluntary program verifying supplement identity, potency, purity, and dissolution.
Source: USP Verified Mark program
<1%#57 estimated share of US dietary supplement SKUs that carry either USP Verified or NSF certification.
31%#58 of herbal supplements tested in a 2013 BMC Medicine study contained DNA from species not listed on the label.
~20%#59 of supplements tested by independent third parties have shown ingredient discrepancies versus their labels in pooled analyses.
2018#60 the year a JAMA Internal Medicine analysis found 776 supplements adulterated with active pharmaceuticals between 2007-2016.
Examine.com#61 independent supplement evidence database, with ~400 ingredient monographs and 50,000+ cited studies as of 2024.
Spending by Demographic & Income
$510#62 average annual US household out-of-pocket spending on dietary supplements in 2023.
$56#63 mean monthly per-person spend on supplements among regular users in CRN's 2023 survey.
Source: CRN Consumer Survey 2023
2.3x#64 US households earning $100k+ spend roughly 2.3 times as much on supplements as households earning under $40k.
$2.7 billion#65 US consumer spending on probiotic supplements in 2023.
Source: Nutrition Business Journal 2024
$1.7 billion#66 US consumer spending on vitamin D supplements in 2023.
Source: Nutrition Business Journal 2024
~64%#67 of US supplement spending is by adults aged 45+, who buy disproportionately more cardiovascular, joint, and bone-health products.
Source: BLS Consumer Expenditure tables
~23%#68 of US supplement spend now flows through Amazon, with traditional natural product retailers losing share annually.
19%#69 of US supplement spending occurs through subscription auto-ship programs, the fastest-growing purchase mode 2020-2024.
Doctor-Recommended Share
79%#70 of US physicians personally take dietary supplements according to the CRN Life...supplemented Healthcare Professionals Impact Study.
73%#71 of US physicians recommend dietary supplements to their patients, per the CRN HCP study.
88%#72 of US registered dietitians personally use dietary supplements per the CRN HCP study.
97%#73 of US registered dietitians recommend supplements to clients in their practice.
~33%#74 of US patients say their physician recommended a specific supplement to them in the past year.
Source: CRN Consumer Survey 2023
~50%#75 of US adults do not tell their primary care physician which supplements they take, increasing risk of drug-supplement interactions.
USPSTF Grade D#76 recommendation against routine beta-carotene or vitamin E for cardiovascular disease or cancer prevention in healthy adults.
USPSTF Grade I#77 insufficient evidence rating for most other vitamin and mineral supplements for primary prevention in healthy adults.
Common Documented Deficiencies (NHANES)
~41%#78 of US adults have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below 20 ng/mL, the IOM threshold for inadequacy, per NHANES analyses.
82.1%#79 of non-Hispanic Black US adults have serum vitamin D below 20 ng/mL, the highest of any race/ethnicity group.
~48%#80 of US adults consume less than the Estimated Average Requirement for magnesium from food alone, per NHANES intake analyses.
10.4%#81 of US women aged 12-49 have iron deficiency by NHANES biochemical criteria.
3-6%#82 of US adults aged 60+ have biochemical vitamin B12 deficiency, with prevalence rising with age.
<1%#83 US folate deficiency prevalence in adults, the lowest of any common micronutrient deficiency thanks to grain fortification.
~37%#84 of US women of reproductive age have urinary iodine concentrations below 100 mcg/L, indicating iodine inadequacy.
94.3%#85 of US adults consume less than the Estimated Average Requirement for vitamin D from food alone, before supplementation.