Vitamins High Priority for Americans in 2015, Survey Says

Among the many New Year’s resolutions for 2015, taking vitamins ranks as the fifth most popular healthy habit that Americans are committed to, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC). The survey asked more than 2000 U.S. adults to select the health and wellness habits they are committing to in 2015, with “taking vitamins” listed as a priority by 47% of people.

Although CRN conducts its extensive Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements every August, this is the first time CRN has commissioned a smaller, snapshot survey through Harris Poll. From December 8-10, 2014, 2021 adults aged 18 and older responded to the online panel on healthy habits in 2015.

“We decided to do a series of these quick polls because we thought that it would be interesting to do some that are timed to specific times of the year or timed to specific events,” says Judy Blatman, senior vice president, communications. “We’re planning to do a few more of them this coming year.”

Ranked even more popular than “taking vitamins” in the poll were “drinking enough water” (72%), “eating healthy/healthier in general” (66%), “getting more physically active” (62%), and “getting more sleep” (49%). However, with a 47% vote, vitamins came before priorities such as having a healthy breakfast every day, spending more in-person time with family and friends, and staying calm in traffic.

“I wouldn’t say [the results] were surprising because we know that so many people take vitamins in this country; they’re such a mainstream category. But certainly, they were encouraging results,” says Blatman.

Taking into account age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income of survey participants, Harris Poll weighted the date where necessary to match it with demographics of the general population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error could be calculated because the sample was based on voluntary participation in an online panel.

Blatman says one of the most striking observations from this poll, as well as from CRN’s larger annual survey, is how people taking dietary supplements are also more likely to engage in other healthy habits.

“It’s really the constellation of healthy habits that people are engaging in,” says Blatman. “They’re not just looking at one thing; they’re recognizing that there are a lot of different things that they need to do, and we feel very good about the fact that they recognize that taking vitamins or other supplements is one of those important things when it comes toward your health.”

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

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