Household expenditures on dietary supplements sold for weight loss, muscle building, and sexual function: Disproportionate burden by gender and income

Abstract

Dietary supplements sold for weight loss (WL), muscle building (MB), and sexual function (SF) are not medically recommended. They have been shown to be ineffective in many cases and pose serious health risks to consumers due to adulteration with banned substances, prescription pharmaceuticals, and other dangerous chemicals. Yet no prior research has investigated how these products may disproportionately burden individuals and families by gender and socioeconomic position across households. We investigated household (HH) cost burden of dietary supplements sold for WL, MB, and SF in a cross-sectional study using data from 60,538 U.S. households (HH) in 2012 Nielsen/IRi National Consumer Panel, calculating annual HH expenditures on WL, MB, and SF supplements and expenditures as proportions of total annual HH income. We examined sociodemographic patterns in HH expenditures using Wald tests of mean differences across subgroups. Among HH with any expenditures on WL, MB, or SF supplements, annual HH first and ninth expenditure deciles were, respectively: WL $5.99, $145.36; MB $6.99, $141.93; and SF $4.98, $88.52. Conditional on any purchases of the products, female-male-headed HH spent more on WL supplements and male-headed HH spend more on MB and SF supplements compared to other HH types (p-values < 0.01). High-income ($30,000 < annual income < $100,000), compared to low-income (annual income < $30,000) HH, spent more on all three supplements types (p-values < 0.01); however, proportional to income, low-income HH spent 2–4 times more than high-income HH on WL and MB supplements (p-values < 0.01). Dietary supplements sold for WL, MB, and SF disproportionately burden HH by income and gender.

Health supplement products use among patients with chronic illnesses: A multicenter study in rural areas of Sarawak, Malaysia

“…This finding might reflect the fact that the high expenditure on HSPs was a burden to chronic disease patients with a low household income. A study by Austin et al (2017) also found that the cost of HSPs might place the low household income families at a higher risk of financial burden. Interestingly, household income was the only determining factor for the use of HSPs in the present study.…”

“…The sales of HSPs in Malaysia was rapidly growing from USD 488 million in 2014 to USD 730 million in 2019 (Lim, 2020). Meanwhile, the expenditure recorded on HSP use in the United States was USD 36.7 billion in 2014, and USD 2 billion and USD 2.6 billion were specifically on supplements for weight loss and muscle building, respectively, in 2015 (Austin et al, 2017). Indeed, the use of HSPs was found among elderly people who consumed various prescription medications for multiple comorbid conditions (Bailey et al, 2010), as well as in children and adolescents (Liu et al, 2019;Mohammadbeigi et al, 2020;Namazi et al, 2019).…”

Should Clinicians Ever Recommend Supplements to Patients Trying to Lose Weight?

“…Although extensive research emphasizes that lifestyle changes are required for successful weight loss, 1,2 each year millions of consumers turn to unproven over-the-counter weight loss supplements to "quick start" their weight loss attempts, hoping this time things will be different. 3,4 Below, we discuss the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter weight loss supplements and suggest ways clinicians can discuss weight loss with patients like Ms S.…”

Dietary supplements versus functional foods: consumers' attitudes to their consumption

“…In addition, our results showed that the respondents who use supplements for weight loss and body weight control also combine them with products for physical and sport performance. However, the previous studies mentioned that dietary supplements used for weight loss, muscle building and sexual function are not medically recommended, have been shown to be ineffective in many cases and can represent a potential health risk for consumers (Austin et al, 2017;Salgado et al, 2014).…”