Nutrition Debate: To Supplement or Substitute - AAEA Member Research

Milwaukee, WI, December 15, 2015

The use of nutritional supplements has grown into a $20 Billion industry in the United States. Some use them to help bulk up. Others take supplements to help fight and control disease. Now there is a growing population of people using supplements as a replacement for actual food.

In their paper, “The Impact of Nutritional Supplement Choices on Diet Behavior and Obesity Outcomes,” Sven Anders (University of Alberta) and Christiane Schroeter (California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo) take a close look at the relationship between peoples’ dietary choices and their health.

“If you go to the doctor and they advise you to improve diet and exercise, you’re presented with a choice of cooking more food at home or going to a supplement store,” Anders said.

Who, if anyone, should take a multi-vitamin in place of eating broccoli or an apple? The impact on Body Mass Index and overall quality of diet is just part of this presentation at an AAEA session of the 2016 Allied Social Sciences Association Annual Meeting (ASSA) in San Francisco, California, January 3-5.

The session will be held Monday, January 4, at 2:30 p.m. (PST) at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis (Room Sierra C).

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