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About half of all U.S. adults use some type of dietary supplement, at a total cost of about US$30 billion annually. Compared with those who take no supplements, supplement users are more likely to be older, healthier, moderate (vs. heavy) alcohol users, and nonsmokers. Using a U.S. health-behavior survey, researchers assessed motivations for supplement use in a nationally representative sample of 12,000 adults.
Dietary supplements were used by 49% of respondents. The most common motivations for supplement use were to improve overall health (45%), maintain health (33%), improve bone health (25%), and “get more energy” (11%). The most commonly used supplements were multivitamins (31%), calcium (12%), and ω-3 fatty acids or fish oil (10%). Part…