Dietary Supplement Statistics 2026: Usage, Market, Safety & What the Evidence Shows

Reviewed by the HealthyMag Editorial Team. Last updated: July 2026. Statistics are compiled from public sources cited throughout; figures are current as of the linked source’s publication.

This page is a curated, continually maintained statistics reference on dietary supplement use, the supplement market, safety, regulation and the state of the evidence in the United States. Every figure below is drawn from a named, authoritative source — federal surveys, peer-reviewed journals, government agencies and established market-research firms — and links directly to that source so it can be verified. Where a number is an industry estimate rather than a government count, we say so. Journalists, researchers and writers are welcome to cite these statistics with attribution to HealthyMag (healthymag.org). We update figures as newer source data is published.

How many people take supplements (prevalence)

The two most-cited U.S. prevalence figures come from different methods: an industry-sponsored consumer survey (broad “past year” self-report) and a federal health examination survey (a stricter “past 30 days” measure). Both are legitimate; they simply count different things.

• ~75% of U.S. adults report taking dietary supplements (Council for Responsible Nutrition, 2024 Consumer Survey, conducted by Ipsos among 3,194 adults). Source
• 57.6% of adults aged 20 and over used any dietary supplement in the past 30 days during 2017–2018 (CDC/NCHS, NHANES, Data Brief No. 399, 2021). Source
• 63.8% of women vs. 50.8% of men reported past-30-day supplement use (CDC/NCHS NHANES, 2017–2018). Source
• About half of U.S. adults take dietary supplements, per the federal government’s consumer overview (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Source
• 91% of supplement users agree that supplements are essential to maintaining their health (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source

The most popular supplements

Multivitamins remain the single most common product, but interest in “specialty” supplements — magnesium, melatonin, ashwagandha and probiotics — has grown sharply in recent years. The table below shows leading products by past-year use among U.S. adults in the CRN 2024 survey.

• Multivitamins (~52%) are the most commonly used supplement among U.S. adults (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source
• Magnesium use rose from 19% to 23% of supplement users between 2023 and 2024, one of the fastest-growing mainstream minerals (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source
• Melatonin (16% of supplement users) was again the most widely used specialty supplement (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source
• Ashwagandha reached 8% of supplement users in 2024, up from 2% in 2020 — a roughly four-fold increase in four years (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source

Who takes them (demographics and age)

Supplement use rises steadily with age and is consistently higher among women than men. Older adults are by far the heaviest users — a pattern the federal NHANES survey documents in detail.

• 74.3% of adults aged 60 and over used a dietary supplement in the past 30 days — the highest of any adult age group (CDC/NCHS NHANES, 2017–2018). Source
• 80.2% of women aged 60 and over reported supplement use, the single highest subgroup rate in the survey (CDC/NCHS NHANES, 2017–2018). Source
• Supplement use increased with age for both sexes, a consistent finding across NHANES survey cycles (CDC/NCHS NHANES, 2017–2018). Source

The supplement market (size and growth)

Market-size figures are commercial estimates and vary between research firms depending on scope, product categories and methodology. They should be read as informed projections, not audited totals. The figures below come from Grand View Research; other firms publish somewhat different numbers, which we note for context.

• ~USD 209.5 billion — estimated global dietary supplements market value in 2025 (Grand View Research). Source
• ~USD 414.5 billion by 2033 — projected global market size, growing at an estimated 8.9% CAGR from 2025 to 2033 (Grand View Research). Source
• ~USD 54.8 billion — estimated 2024 revenue of the U.S. dietary supplements market (Grand View Research). Source
• Almost USD 60 billion a year — what Americans spend on dietary supplements, per the federal government’s consumer overview (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Source
• Median monthly spend of ~USD 50 per supplement user in 2024 (up from USD 48 in 2023) (CRN, 2024 Consumer Survey). Source

Note: estimates for the same year differ across firms — for example, some research houses place the 2024–2025 global market closer to USD 192–198 billion, illustrating why market sizing should be treated as an estimate with a range rather than a single precise figure.

Safety, adverse events and contamination

Serious harm from supplements is uncommon relative to how many people use them, but it is real — driven partly by stimulant-containing weight-loss and energy products, and partly by products spiked with hidden pharmaceutical drugs. This section covers the most rigorously sourced safety numbers.

• ~23,000 emergency-department visits per year in the U.S. are attributed to adverse events from dietary supplements (Geller et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2015 — surveillance data 2004–2013). Source
• Nearly a quarter of those ER visits involved unsupervised children swallowing supplements (Geller et al., NEJM, 2015). Source
• 776 adulterated supplements were identified by the FDA from 2007 through 2016 as containing hidden, unapproved pharmaceutical drugs (Tucker et al., JAMA Network Open, 2018). Source
• Sexual enhancement (45.5%), weight loss (40.9%) and muscle building (11.9%) accounted for nearly all of those tainted products (JAMA Network Open, 2018). Source
• 22 of 25 melatonin gummy products (88%) were inaccurately labeled, with actual melatonin ranging from 74% to 347% of the labeled amount (Cohen et al., JAMA, 2023). Source

How supplements are regulated (DSHEA, FDA and third-party testing)

Dietary supplements in the U.S. are governed by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which regulates them as a category of food rather than as drugs. Understanding this framework is essential to interpreting every other statistic on this page.

• Since DSHEA (1994), dietary supplements have been regulated as food, and the FDA does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness before they are marketed (U.S. FDA, Dietary Supplements). Source
• Manufacturers, not the FDA, bear primary responsibility for ensuring a supplement is safe and accurately labeled before sale; the FDA generally acts after products reach the market (U.S. FDA). Source
• Ingredients marketed before October 15, 1994 were “grandfathered” under DSHEA and did not require FDA safety review; only genuinely new dietary ingredients trigger a notification (DSHEA, 1994 — legislative summary). Source
• Voluntary third-party verification — programs such as USP, NSF International and ConsumerLab — is the main mechanism consumers have to confirm that a product actually contains what its label claims, because it is not required by law (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Source

What the evidence actually shows (efficacy reality)

High supplement use does not mean high proven benefit. For generally healthy people, the strongest independent reviews find limited evidence that most supplements prevent disease — a nuance that often gets lost in marketing.

• Insufficient evidence to recommend multivitamins or most single/paired-nutrient supplements to prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer in healthy adults (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2022). Source
• Recommends against beta-carotene and vitamin E for CVD or cancer prevention — beta-carotene may increase lung-cancer risk in smokers (USPSTF, 2022). Source
• Little to no meaningful benefit from calcium and/or vitamin D for preventing fractures and falls in most independently living older adults, per a review of 69 trials covering 153,902 adults (BMJ meta-analysis, 2026). Source
• Combined calcium plus vitamin D lowered fracture risk by only about 1% in that analysis, with vitamin D alone showing no effect — though the supplements still matter for people with osteoporosis or a diagnosed deficiency (BMJ meta-analysis, 2026). Source

For plain-language explainers built on this evidence base, see HealthyMag’s guides on whether collagen supplements actually work, what the research says about calcium and vitamin D for bones, and the evidence behind the trend of using berberine as “nature’s Ozempic.”

Methodology & citation

The statistics on this page are drawn only from public, authoritative sources: federal surveys and agencies (CDC/NCHS NHANES, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. FDA, USPSTF), peer-reviewed journals (NEJM, JAMA, JAMA Network Open, BMJ), the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s annual consumer survey, and named market-research firms. Each figure reflects the date of the cited source and is not adjusted or re-estimated by HealthyMag. Prevalence figures differ by method — self-reported “past year” surveys (e.g., CRN) tend to be higher than the federal “past 30 days” examination measure (NHANES) — and both are presented so readers can choose the appropriate one. Market-size figures are commercial estimates and vary between firms; we present a leading estimate and note the wider range. Journalists and writers may cite these statistics with attribution and a link to this page (healthymag.org). We review and update the figures as newer source data becomes available.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Americans take dietary supplements?

About three-quarters of U.S. adults (roughly 75%) report taking dietary supplements, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s 2024 Consumer Survey. Using a stricter federal “past 30 days” measure, the CDC’s NHANES survey put the figure at 57.6% of adults aged 20 and over in 2017–2018. The difference reflects survey method (broad past-year self-report vs. a shorter recent-use window), not a contradiction.

What is the most popular supplement?

The multivitamin is the single most commonly used dietary supplement, taken by roughly 52% of U.S. adults in the past year, according to the CRN 2024 Consumer Survey. Vitamin D, omega-3/fish oil, calcium and vitamin C round out the top five.

How big is the supplement industry?

The global dietary supplements market was valued at an estimated USD 209.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach about USD 414.5 billion by 2033, growing at roughly an 8.9% CAGR, according to Grand View Research. These are commercial estimates and vary by firm. In the U.S. alone, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes Americans spend almost USD 60 billion a year on supplements.

Are dietary supplements FDA approved?

No. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), supplements are regulated as food, and the FDA does not approve them for safety or effectiveness before they go on sale. Manufacturers are responsible for safety and labeling; the FDA generally takes action only after a product is already on the market (U.S. FDA).

How many people are hospitalized from supplements?

A landmark New England Journal of Medicine study (Geller et al., 2015) estimated that dietary supplements are linked to about 23,000 emergency-department visits per year in the United States, with nearly a quarter of those visits involving young children swallowing supplements unsupervised. Serious harm is uncommon relative to how many people use supplements, but it is real.

Do most supplements actually work?

For generally healthy people, the strongest independent evidence is underwhelming. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2022) found insufficient evidence to recommend multivitamins for preventing cardiovascular disease or cancer, and recommended against beta-carotene and vitamin E. A 2026 BMJ meta-analysis of more than 153,000 adults found little to no meaningful fracture-prevention benefit from calcium and vitamin D for most older adults. Supplements can still be important for diagnosed deficiencies or specific medical needs.

What percentage of older adults take supplements?

Among adults aged 60 and over, 74.3% used a dietary supplement in the past 30 days during 2017–2018 — the highest of any adult age group, according to the CDC’s NHANES survey (Data Brief 399). The rate was highest among women aged 60 and over, at 80.2%.

Are supplements ever contaminated with drugs?

Yes. A JAMA Network Open analysis (2018) found the FDA identified 776 supplements adulterated with hidden pharmaceutical drugs from 2007 through 2016 — overwhelmingly products marketed for sexual enhancement, weight loss and muscle building. Separately, a 2023 JAMA study found 88% of tested melatonin gummy products were inaccurately labeled, underscoring why voluntary third-party testing (USP, NSF, ConsumerLab) matters.

The Bottom Line

Dietary supplements are a mainstream habit and a huge business: roughly three in four U.S. adults use them, and the global market is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars and growing. But three facts should anchor any honest discussion. First, supplements are not FDA-approved for safety or effectiveness before sale — regulation under DSHEA puts the burden on manufacturers. Second, “natural” is not the same as safe: supplements are tied to an estimated 23,000 U.S. ER visits a year, and hundreds of products have been caught containing hidden drugs or inaccurate doses. Third, for healthy people, the strongest independent reviews — from the USPSTF and recent BMJ evidence — find limited proof that most supplements prevent disease. Supplements have a genuine role for diagnosed deficiencies and specific medical needs, but the gap between how much they are used and how much they are proven to help is one of the most important stories in this data.

Sources

1. Council for Responsible Nutrition, “CRN Survey Shows Consistent Supplement Usage with Increase of Specialty Product Use Over Time” (2024 Consumer Survey), 2024. https://www.crnusa.org/newsroom/crn-survey-shows-consistent-supplement-usage-increase-specialty-product-use-over-time
2. Council for Responsible Nutrition, “2024 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements,” 2024. https://www.crnusa.org/resources/2024-crn-consumer-survey-dietary-supplements
3. Mishra S, Stierman B, Gahche JJ, Potischman N. “Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017–2018,” NCHS Data Brief No. 399, CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db399.htm
4. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, “Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know,” 2024. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/WYNTK-Consumer/
5. Grand View Research, “Dietary Supplements Market Size & Share Report, 2026–2033,” 2025. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/dietary-supplements-market-report
6. Grand View Research (via Yahoo Finance/PR Newswire), “Dietary Supplements Market to Hit $414.5B by 2033, Growing at 8.9% CAGR,” 2025. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dietary-supplements-market-hit-414-151500706.html
7. Grand View Research, “U.S. Dietary Supplements Market Size, Industry Report, 2033,” 2025. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-dietary-supplements-market-report
8. Geller AI, Shehab N, Weidle NJ, et al. “Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements,” New England Journal of Medicine, 2015;373(16):1531–1540. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1504267
9. Tucker J, Fischer T, Upjohn L, Mazzera D, Kumar M. “Unapproved Pharmaceutical Ingredients Included in Dietary Supplements Associated With US FDA Warnings,” JAMA Network Open, 2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2706496
10. Cohen PA, Avula B, Wang Y, et al. “Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US,” JAMA, 2023. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2804077
11. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Dietary Supplements,” 2024. https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements
12. “Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)” — legislative summary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Supplement_Health_and_Education_Act_of_1994
13. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, “Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer,” 2022. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/vitamin-supplementation-to-prevent-cvd-and-cancer-preventive-medication
14. BMJ meta-analysis of calcium and vitamin D for fracture and fall prevention (69 trials, 153,902 adults), reported June 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-calcium-vitamin-d-supplements-meaningful.html
15. ScienceDaily coverage of the 2026 BMJ calcium/vitamin D review, June 2026. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260614011852.htm