Household Expenditures on Dietary Supplements Marketed for Weight Loss and Muscle Building: Disproportionate Burden by Gender and Income

Introduction: Little is known about the cost burden of dietary supplements marketed for weight loss (WL) and muscle building (MB), none of which are medically recommended for healthy weight control.

Methods: Using data from 62,092 U.S. households (HH) in the 2011 wave of a national consumer database, we characterized HH expenditures for dietary supplements across the country. We examined sociodemographic patterns in annual HH expenditures on WL and MB supplements and expenditures as a proportion of total annual HH income. We conducted Wald tests of statistical mean differences across subgroups.

Results: Among HH with any expenditures on WL/MB supplements, annual HH first and ninth expenditure deciles were: WL $4.00 and $87.94; and MB $5.13 and $82.55. HH with only a female head spent more than (p-value<0.01) HH with only a male head on WL supplements and did not differ from HH with both female and male heads. In contrast, HH with only a male head spent more than (p-value<0.01) HH with only a female head on MB supplements and did not differ from HH with both female and male heads. Expenditures as a proportion of total annual HH income were more than double (p-value<0.01) for HH with annual income<$30,000 compared to those with income above $30,000.

Discussion: Dietary supplements marketed for WL and MB are problematic yet widely used and represent a multibillion-dollar industry that disproportionately burdens HH by income and gender. Greater attention and intervention are needed to address this troubling supplement category.