The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Americans, one of the greatest public health burdens and disease risk factors, has continued its steady rise in recent years.

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) most recent assessment, 41.9% of the U.S. population is now obese and at risk for related conditions that include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. By CDC’s estimates, the U.S. population racked up $173 billion in medical spending on obesity-related conditions in 2019; medical costs for those who had obesity were, on average, $1,861 higher than medical costs for people who were at a healthy weight.

Even more concerning, obesity is affecting children and adolescents at rates never seen before, according to an analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics in July.¹ Based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), the obesity rate among youth aged 2-19 increased from 18.1% (in the 2011-2012 survey period) to 21.4% (in the 2017-2020 survey period), surpassing the one-in-five mark for the first time.

The struggle with weight doesn’t discriminate. NHANES data demonstrated an upward weight trend consistent across all demographics. With such a large and growing group affected by obesity and overweight, it’s clear there is no one-size-fits-all solution for losing or maintaining weight.

The mainstream market for weight loss dietary supplements today is focused on delivering combinations of nutrients and bioactives that accompany diet and exercise modifications to offer related nutrition and wellness benefits.

“It’s important for people to see and feel the effects from their efforts, and that requires a little extra help,” said Katie Emerson, manager of scientific affairs for Nutrition21. It’s also key to address both physical and mental aspects of weight management, she added.

Market Metrics

According to Haleigh Resetar, corporate communications specialist at SPINS, weight-management-specific supplements have been on the decline. On Amazon, weight management supplements are down in total units sold by -27%, and total revenue by -25%, with an increase of 2% in average retail price.

For performance nutrition products with weight management benefits over the past 52 weeks, ending July 10, supplements are down -10% in dollar sales and -12.4% in unit sales. Still, a net of condition-specific supplements related to weight loss are selling well.

“There is less of a focus on losing weight, and more of a shift toward making choices that are better for overall wellness, which ultimately for many consumers, can lead to weight management,” said Resetar. “While weight management supplements are down, supplements such as hydration and electrolytes are up +109.6% in unit sales and +140.6% in dollar sales.” Other major winners are calmative and mood support supplements (+39.3% in unit sales and +47.5% in dollar sales) and sleep supplements (+0.8% in unit sales and +7.9% in dollar sales).

The top weight management supplement ingredients in dollar sales, over the past year ending on July 10, are caffeine ($55 million total revenue), green tea ($16 million), ketones ($11 million), and glucomannan ($11 million), according to SPINS data.

By dollar percent change, the ingredients rising the most quickly in the weight loss supplements market are ashwagandha (+28.9% dollar sales, $1.04 million total revenue, +35% unit sales), orange peel extract (+22.4% dollar sales, $4.2 million total revenue, +22.7% unit sales), chromium (+9.3% dollar sales, $4.08 million total revenue, -12.2% unit sales), and B vitamin complexes (+2.1% dollar sales, $4.27 million total revenue, -1.3% unit sales).

Meanwhile, the past year has been stellar for ready-to-drink products in the weight management market, rising +46.7% in dollar sales and +20.5% in unit sales to $1.28 million in total revenue, according to Resetar. In terms of supplement format, gummies dominate with $12.9 million in total revenue, despite a slight decline in dollar sales (-2.2%) and unit sales (-7.4%). 

Diet Trends

Plenty of fad diets come and go, but there are common rules or restrictions people place on their food intake. Specific diets on the whole are growing in popularity. About 45 million Americans go on a diet each year, and spend a total of $33 billion on weight loss products as a whole, according to the Boston Medical Center. On average, according to the CDC, nearly half of adults attempt to lose weight within any given year. According to a 2007 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 15% of U.S. adults reported trying a weight loss supplement, with more women reporting use (21%) than men (10%).

It’s been the case for quite some time that sugar and carbs are considered the two biggest evils by most consumers striving to shed some pounds, according to Carla Saunders, senior marketing manager for high intensity sweeteners at Cargill.

“Cargill’s proprietary research finds the two most commonly followed diets are low-sugar (29%, up eight points from 2021) and low-carb (22%, up five points from 2021). Both show sizable increases in incidence over the last year,” Saunders said. “Those findings track with the results of the most recent Food & Health Survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC). In its 2022 survey, it also found significant upticks in the number of Americans who reported following a diet or eating pattern, up 13% in the past year alone (39% in 2021 vs. 52% in 2022).”

An estimated 73% of Americans avoid sugar, with 41% of that group saying they do so to avoid gaining weight, according to Saunders. “At the same time, consumers continue to move away from artificial sweeteners. More than half of U.S. consumers (55%) say no artificial sweeteners is an extremely or very important statement on food and beverage labels. One in five (22%) say they’d pay more for products made without them.”

Protein remains the number one nutrient Americans are looking for specifically, with 59% of consumers wanting to increase their intake. Further, 30% of Americans want to increase protein from plant sources, Saunders noted. Beyond this, weight management is a benefit sought by 30% of U.S. consumers in their food choices, with digestive health trending just behind (29%). “Fiber, a nutrient consumers typically under-consume, can help support both asks,” Saunders said.

Consumers are looking for brands that have done their due diligence when it comes to ingredient safety, efficacy, and quality. They want to fully understand the mechanism of action behind an ingredient nearly as much as a researcher, said Vaughn DuBow, global director of marketing, microbiome solutions, ADM.

Beyond fiber and a number of vitamins and minerals, there’s an overall lack of diversity in the plants people consume, said Jim Flatt, CEO and co-founder of Brightseed. “Plants are rich sources of botanical bioactive compounds that can have potent functional benefits across a range of health areas, including gut and metabolic health,” he said. “The opportunity to complement botanicals in the diet is also a rich space that the supplements industry can complement. This fall Brightseed will launch a bioactive-rich fiber for gut strength and total gut health, which addresses a core of consumers today.” More details are coming soon, he noted.

Attitude is Everything

Following the formula of burning more calories than consumed may sound easier in practice than reality for many people. Emotional wellbeing has become a bigger part of the discussion around product development in the weight loss category.

“Today’s consumers have a more holistic concept of weight management that incorporates physical and emotional wellbeing,” DuBow said. “They are beginning to recognize the connections between their weight and how they feel. With this mindful approach, consumers are adopting nutrition and exercise habits that they believe will contribute to their overall wellness. Furthermore, personalized nutrition is a growing trend, with 49% of consumers believing that every individual is unique and requires a customized approach to their diet.” 

According to Stephanie Mattucci, associate director of global food science for Mintel, consumers are less attentive to their waistlines and the number on the scale, instead focusing more on their holistic health, of which weight management is a part.

Citing a 2022 Mintel report on weight loss supplements, Mattucci emphasized a growing movement called “body neutrality,” which is less focused on aesthetics or weight loss as a standalone goal, but rather a more inclusive picture of achieving what the body is capable of. The market could respond by edging out centerfold claims about calories, weight, or waist size. More promising are claims about energy, strength, flexibility, digestive health, and more, Mattucci said.

Mintel’s market analysis revealed that slimming claims went down in U.S. vitamin supplement launches, from 14% to just 8% of products over 2020-2021. While 52% of U.S. consumers reported to Mintel that managing their weight is a top health priority for them, “the way we tackle weight wellness will become more holistic and will need to look at all the factors that affect a person’s weight,” Mattucci said.

The importance of mindset in maintaining a healthy weight is not lost on todays’ consumer, according to Resetar, and for many, achieving better mood and sleep is vital to making the right food choices consistently.

“Shoppers are taking the time to step back and look at how their sleep and mental health is affecting their choices,” she said. “If they don’t get enough sleep, they may opt for a less healthy breakfast than if they were fully rested. If they are feeling emotionally drained and mentally fatigued, they might not have the energy to work out. Consumers are seeing the correlations between their overall health and wellness and their interest in weight management, and how both of those need to be looked at together rather than separately.”

Rob Brewster, president of Ingredients by Nature, concurred that weight management has gone beyond weight loss, toward a more holistic lifestyle. “Bringing new products with the bigger picture in mind is crucial,” he said. “We need to help the consumer achieve more in their weight management journey by delivering products that improve multiple aspects around weight management.”

According to Maggie McNamara, marketing director for Gencor, social media has become the biggest influencer of exercise and nutrition trends. Prescription weight loss meds and, in turn, prescriptive weight loss strategies, have less appeal across today’s weight loss marketplace than holistic wellness plans.

“There is a definite shift to changing eating patterns versus popping pills,” McNamara said. “The rise of holistic wellness and social-media-influenced dieting as weight loss trends have led to a decline in interest for prescription weight loss medications. Supplements, though viewed as a more positive option than prescription meds for weight loss, are now part of the solution, where in the past they were a way more popular option due to ease and convenience.”

Connecting the Dots

While prescriptive measures are losing steam, strong science still garners a bigger draw than ever before in this category, according to Steve Fink, vice president of marketing for PLT Health Solutions.

“We have seen the weight management market become more interested in and reliant on high quality science to back messaging about weight management products in an effort to build trust with consumers,” said Fink. “We look for proof of efficacy not only as a source of claims but also as a way to enhance the customers’ experience of products so that they return again and again for the benefits they seek. We also develop clinical science to give our customers a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.”

Mattucci noted there are opportunities for multi-ingredient weight loss formulas to address sleep, stress, hormone health, and digestive health issues, especially bloating. “Bloating is a very personal issue and the causes of bloating can vary from eating too much or too quickly, to food allergies or intolerances, gastrointestinal disorders, or even hormone fluctuations. Of the 23% of U.S. adults who have experienced bloating, 39% agree it is difficult to track what causes their bloating. Yet there is an opportunity for supplement brands to support people who struggle with cyclical bloating caused by menstruation cycles.”

A few areas of opportunity, according to McNamara, include the microbiome—with both prebiotics and probiotics leading the way—along with a new understanding that stress is playing a critical role in why people are gaining weight or are unable to lose weight. “Metabolic syndrome is also getting a play here as it is closely linked to stress,” she added. 

Sid Shastri, director of research and business at Kaneka Probiotics, noted that “journal publications are emphasizing the gut microbiome as a critical factor in one’s ability to manage weight, right behind energy imbalance, family history, and lifestyle. Accordingly, consumers are beginning to understand the importance of the gut microbiota in weight management.”

DuBow agreed that products that support the gut microbiome are currently in the spotlight. In fact, 58% of global consumers perceive a connection between the function of the bacteria in the gut to wider aspects of wellness, including elements related to weight maintenance. With scientific advancements, microbiome-supporting ingredients like probiotics and postbiotics are now available, with consumers associating these products with body composition support in addition to gut health and other areas of wellbeing.”

Energy is another hot topic in the world of active nutrition, DuBow continued, which includes people of many life stages and lifestyles. “Notably, a reported 53% of the global population is classified as active nutrition consumers. These shoppers are seeking products to help them feel better, such as hydration beverages, nutrition bars, and meal-replacement drinks, which consumers may link to support for weight management, sustained energy, improved mood, digestive health, and more depending on the formulation.”

Is there a Stigma to Overcome?

Dietary supplements marketed toward weight loss are among the most heavily-scrutinized products, by regulators, media, and consumers alike. Both misleading claims and products which contain prohibited ingredients easily grab headlines and attention.

In August, a team of researchers led by Pieter Cohen, MD, of Cambridge Health Alliance, writing in JAMA, tracked FDA warning letters for unapproved stimulants present in products on the market.² Researchers found that of 31 products containing illegal stimulants (DMHA, methylsynephrine, and BMPEA), many companies did not follow through with removal; nine products implicated in the letters were still on sale six years later, almost all of which still contained FDA-prohibited ingredients according to analytical tests. Illegal stimulants are common culprits in adulterated weight loss supplements due to their effects on appetite, in spite of the dangers they pose to consumer health.

Several state governments are taking legislative initiatives to restrict or ban access among minors to dietary supplements marketed for weight loss. Bills are currently going through the legislative process in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and California, the latter of which passed a bill through the California Assembly earlier this year.

Younger and savvier consumers can more clearly seek out the safe and efficacious products on the market today, and tend to be less influenced by attention-grabbing headlines about disreputable supplement makers, according to McNamara. However, negative sentiment about weight loss supplements due to highly-publicized bad actors still has gravity among Boomers, she said.

“I do believe there is a stigma around weight loss products on the market,” said Brewster. “Brands must avoid explicit claims around ‘weight loss’ and focus on the scientific findings of their research. It is also crucial to market to the right audience and understand that consumers want a holistic approach to weight management.”

Flatt, at Brightseed, said the weight loss supplements category “is one of the most stigmatized and trickiest to navigate. The continued need for scientific innovation and the potential to develop accessible, evidence-supported solutions is core to Brightseed’s mission. There is tremendous potential to advance the category and address the ‘wellness gap’ between healthcare access and consumer needs if we go about it the right way.

“We recommend brands look closely at safety data,” he continued, “look for well-designed clinical trials in ingredients, consult experts to formulate safe and effective products, and communicate openly and transparently with consumers to foster trust.” 

References

1. Hu, K., Staiano, A. (2022). Trends in Obesity Prevalence Among Children and Adolescents Aged 2 to 19 Years in the U.S. from 2011 to 2020. JAMA Pediatrics. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.2052
2. Cohen, P. et al. (2022). Recalls, Availability, and Content of Dietary Supplements Following FDA Warning Letters. JAMA 328(4):393-395. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.9734