Label Statements and Perceived Health Benefits of Dietary Supplements

Do statements on nutritional supplement labels affect how consumers perceive the supplement’s health benefits?In this survey study, 4403 US adults were randomized to see different labels for fish oil and a nonexistent, hypothetical supplement. For both supplements, participants who viewed labels with statements such as “heart health” or “brain health” were more likely to report believing that the supplement prevented or treated cardiac- and neurologic-related conditions.In this study, consumers were more likely to report specific disease-related health benefits from supplements when their labels included commonly used statements that exceed the scope of their intended meaning, supporting the need to reevaluate regulations regarding nutritional supplement labeling.

Corresponding Author: Ann Marie Navar, MD, PhD, MSc, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, E7.522, Dallas, TX 75201 (ann.navar@utsouthwestern.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.