Ethical considerations in dietary supplement consumption behaviors

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the dietary supplement consumption behaviors and ethical attitudes aiming to contribute to a more conscientious and ethical consumption culture within the health industry. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2019 with a sample size of 384 individuals aged 20-65 in Turkey. Analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 22.0, including exploratory factor analysis and statistical tests. Results: About 55.5% of participants used dietary supplements, with Vitamin D, Vitamin B, Omega-3, and multivitamin complexes being common. Ethical concerns included inadequate label information, price discrepancies, and legal oversight issues. Statistically significant differences were observed in gender regarding the dimensions of meeting needs and promotion, in age regarding the legal dimension, and in the reasons for visiting a dietitian in the other four dimensions, except for the legal dimension (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study revealed that factors such as gender, age, and dietary preferences influence individuals' supplement choices. Men were found to be more inclined toward the meeting needs and promotion aspects of dietary supplement purchases than women. In addition, age group and dietary preferences were found to affect the sensitivity of individuals in their supplement choices.