[Food supplements in the context of social media: results from a survey on use and perceptions in Germany]

In recent years, food supplements such as vitamin or mineral preparations have gained great popularity. This is also evident on social media where influencers in particular disseminate information about or advertise food supplements. This way, consumers may get a one-sided impression of food supplements. As the intake of food supplements is associated with specific health risks and benefits, target group-specific education is necessary. The foundation for this is knowledge of perceptions and use of food supplements in the population.

A representative (for age, gender, education and federal state) online survey (n = 1071) was conducted in September 2024 to investigate usage behaviour, intake motivation, and perceptions with regard to food supplements in Germany.

Of the respondents, 76.6% reported having taken food supplements during the past year, particularly specific micronutrients such as magnesium or vitamin D. The main reasons for their usage were health-related. In addition, 14.3% of consumers considered food supplements as food in accordance with the legal definition. There were differences in usage behaviour, intake motivation and perception of food supplements depending on whether or not respondents had perceived information about food supplements on social media. Persons who had received information about food supplements on social media took a greater number of different substances, were more likely to take food supplements at least once a week and rated their benefit higher.

The findings reveal both implications for health and risk communication and the need for further research.