Dietary supplements and protein powders fall under a ‘wild west’ of unregulated products that necessitate caveats and caution

Adobe Stock Photo by Emily Hemendinger, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Katie Suleta, George Washington University Dietary supplements are a big business. The industry made almost US$39 billion in revenue in 2022, and with very little regulation and oversight, it stands to keep growing. The marketing of dietary supplements has been quite effective, with 77% of Americans reporting feeling that the supplement industry is trustworthy. The idea of taking your health into your own hands is appealing, and supplements are popular with athletes, parents and people trying to recover more quickly from a cold or flu, just to name a few. Dietary supplement labels can be misleading. Charday Penn/iStock via Getty Images A 2024 study found that approximately 1 in 10 adolescents have used nonprescribed weight loss and weight control products, including dietary supplements. Notably, that systematic review found that nonprescribed diet pill use was significantly higher than the use of nonprescribed laxatives and diuretics for weight management. These types of unhealthy weight control behaviors are associated with both worsened mental health and physical health outcomes. As a licensed clinical social worker specializing in treating anxiety disorders and eating disorders and a biomedical research director, we’ve seen firsthand...