Introduction
Sports nutrition is not a niche corner of wellness; it sits at the intersection of public health, athletic performance, and a market that keeps expanding in highly specific ways. The numbers show a clear split between broad dietary supplement use, concentrated sports-oriented use, and a fast-moving hydration segment that is pulling a lot of the category growth.
Table of Contents
- The big picture
- Who uses supplements and how often
- What athletes actually take
- Hydration and performance nutrition trends
- Safety and product quality risks
- What the data implies for brands, coaches, and consumers
The big picture
The most useful way to read sports nutrition statistics is to separate three different audiences: the general public, athletes, and the commercial category built around performance nutrition. In the general population, supplement use is already mainstream, with clear age and gender differences. In athlete populations, use is often higher and more specialized. In the retail market, hydration and electrolyte formulas are growing much faster than some adjacent performance segments, which suggests that convenience, training support, and endurance use cases are doing a lot of the work.
The category is not moving evenly. The data points to stronger demand in hydration, minerals, and endurance-friendly formats than in some traditional preworkout and weight-management products.
Fast facts at a glance
- 60.2% of U.S. adults age 20 and older used any dietary supplement in the past 30 days during August 2021-August 2023 (CDC Data Brief 561).
- 35.7% of U.S. youth ages 0-19 used any dietary supplement in the past 30 days during the same period (CDC Data Brief 561).
- 75.9% of adults ages 60 and older used any dietary supplement (CDC Data Brief 561).
- 38.7% of adults age 20 and older used two or more dietary supplements (CDC Data Brief 561).
- Hydration and electrolyte formulas posted 49.3% year-over-year unit growth in SPINS’ performance nutrition category (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
- 35% of 200 sports supplement products tested by Sport Integrity Australia contained one or more WADA-prohibited substances (Sport Integrity Australia research).
Who uses supplements and how often
The CDC numbers make it clear that supplement use rises with age in the adult population, but not in a simple straight line. Adults ages 20 to 39 had the lowest use rate in the CDC brief, while adults 60 and older had the highest. That matters because “sports nutrition” often gets framed as a youth-athlete or gym-only topic, when the reality is broader.
Adult supplement use by age
| Group | Any dietary supplement | Two or more dietary supplements | Three or more dietary supplements | Four or more dietary supplements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults 20-39 | 46.3% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 23.4% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 10.6% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 6.4% (CDC Data Brief 561) |
| Adults 40-59 | 60.3% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 38.5% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 23.2% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 14.7% (CDC Data Brief 561) |
| Adults 60 and older | 75.9% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 56.4% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 39.9% (CDC Data Brief 561) | 26.5% (CDC Data Brief 561) |
This table shows a practical pattern: older adults are not only more likely to use supplements, they are also more likely to use several at once. That suggests the category is not just about a single “sports” product. It is also part of broader daily nutrition routines, recovery habits, and wellness stacking.
Youth use is substantial too
Youth supplement use is high enough to matter in any serious discussion of sports nutrition. Among youth ages 2-11, 41.9% used any dietary supplement (CDC Data Brief 561), which is higher than the 30.1% seen among youth ages 12-19 (CDC Data Brief 561). The youngest group, ages 0-1, still posted 28.6% any-use and 5.9% use of two or more supplements (CDC Data Brief 561).
That is a reminder that “supplement use” is not limited to competitive athletes or adult fitness consumers. It appears across life stages, with very different motivations and product types.
Multi-supplement use is a defining feature
One of the most important signals in the CDC data is the share of people using more than one supplement. Among adults age 20 and older, 38.7% used two or more dietary supplements, 23.9% used three or more, and 15.4% used four or more during August 2021-August 2023 (CDC Data Brief 561). Among youth, the share using two or more was much lower at 11.3%, but that is still a meaningful base (CDC Data Brief 561).
Gender differences are visible
Among adults age 20 and older, 66.1% of women used any dietary supplement versus 53.9% of men (CDC Data Brief 561). That gap matters for product design, messaging, and retail assortment. It also suggests that sports nutrition cannot be treated as a one-audience category if brands want to understand real buying behavior.
What athletes actually take
Athlete data consistently shows higher, more specialized use than the general population. The category mix is also different. Athletes do not just consume “more supplements.” They consume more targeted supplements tied to training, recovery, endurance, and competition preparation.
College and elite athlete use
The NIH ODS fact sheet reports that two-thirds of 3,887 adult and adolescent elite track and field athletes at world-championship competitions used at least one dietary supplement (NIH ODS Fact Sheet). In another survey of 1,248 U.S. college students age 16 and older, 66% used any dietary supplement (NIH ODS Fact Sheet). That college sample also shows why athletes and active students are a valuable audience for sports nutrition brands: 20% of supplement users reported enhanced muscle strength as a reason for use, 19% reported performance enhancement, and 7% reported increased endurance (NIH ODS Fact Sheet).
A more sport-specific college-athlete survey of about 21,000 U.S. college athletes found that 41.7% reported taking protein products (NIH ODS Fact Sheet). Energy drinks and shots were reported by 28.6%, creatine by 14.0%, and amino acids by 12.1% (NIH ODS Fact Sheet). Smaller shares reported multivitamins with caffeine at 5.7%, HMB at 0.2%, DHEA at 0.1%, and an unspecified mix of testosterone boosters at 1.6% (NIH ODS Fact Sheet).
A quick comparison of athlete supplement patterns
| Population | Notable supplement use |
|---|---|
| Elite track and field athletes | 66% used at least one dietary supplement (NIH ODS Fact Sheet) |
| U.S. college athletes | 41.7% protein products; 28.6% energy drinks/shots; 14.0% creatine (NIH ODS Fact Sheet) |
| NCAA Division I athletes | 45.2% used one or more supplements on 2+ days per week over the past year (PMC7737658) |
| Elite Spanish athletes | 64% used dietary supplements; proteins were most prevalent at 41% (PMC6639916) |
| Lithuanian elite athletes | 86% used carbohydrate supplements; 81.3% used vitamins; 74.5% used minerals (PMC7279379) |
This table reinforces a core point: athlete supplement use is not random. It clusters around protein, carbohydrate support, vitamins, minerals, caffeine, and performance-oriented compounds.
Product preferences vary by sport context
In the Lithuanian elite-athlete study, 86% used carbohydrate supplements, 81.3% used vitamins, 74.5% used minerals, 70.4% used protein supplements, and 61.8% used multivitamins (PMC7279379). The same study found 36% used caffeine supplements, 46.7% used omega-FA supplements, 24.6% used creatine, 25.4% used carnitine, and 19% used herbal supplements (PMC7279379).
That mix suggests athletes are often assembling a toolkit rather than relying on one category. If a brand wants to understand demand, it has to understand stacking behavior, not just best-selling single items.
Endurance and team sports bring different patterns
In that Lithuanian study, 3.8% of anaerobic sports athletes used caffeine during training, compared with 20.5% of prolonged endurance athletes and 19.6% of mixed aerobic-and-anaerobic athletes (PMC7279379). That is a useful reminder that timing, training load, and sport type shape supplement choice. Sports nutrition is not one market. It is a group of overlapping use cases.
Hydration and performance nutrition trends
The commercial side of sports nutrition is especially revealing when you look at category growth and mix. Hydration and electrolyte products are standing out. Preworkout and weight management are not moving in the same direction.
SPINS category growth tells a clear story
In SPINS’ performance nutrition category, 52-week dollar sales changed by +24.4% year over year for the period ending 6/16/24 (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). Within that category, hydration and electrolyte formulas showed 49.3% year-over-year growth, while preworkout formulas showed -1.4% and weight management formulas showed -12.5% (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
That is a sharp divergence. It suggests shoppers are rewarding products with a clearer training utility and daily-use logic, while some other performance subcategories are losing momentum.
Category mix also favors hydration
Hydration and electrolyte supplements represented 45.8% of the performance nutrition category mix in SPINS’ breakdown (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). Preworkout represented 24.3%, and weight management represented 1.6% (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
That mix matters because it shows where the center of gravity is. If nearly half of category mix sits in hydration and electrolytes, then the market is already voting with shelf space and sales velocity.
Sales figures back up the shift
SPINS reported hydration and electrolytes at $493.8 million in 52-week sales ending 6/16/24, up from $316.1 million in the prior year-ago period (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). SPINS also reported $737.0 million over a 3-year ending period through 6/16/24, with a 2-year CAGR of +56.2% and dollar sales growth of +52.7% (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). Unit sales growth was +49.3%, and 2-year unit sales growth was +31.1% (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
Top hydration ingredients
The ingredient-level breakdown is just as useful. Multi-minerals reached $583.3 million in dollar sales and posted +49.4% dollar-sales growth plus +30.9% unit-sales growth (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). BCAAs reached $19.6 million in dollar sales and posted +12.4% dollar-sales growth plus +23.4% unit-sales growth (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). Magnesium reached $3.2 million in dollar sales, with +344.5% dollar-sales growth and +806.8% unit-sales growth (SPINS State of the Industry 2024). Taurine reached $1.5 million in dollar sales, with +835.5% dollar-sales growth and +728.9% unit-sales growth (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
That mix shows two things at once. First, minerals and hydration-support ingredients are now large enough to drive meaningful category value. Second, some smaller ingredients are growing extremely fast off a small base.
Why hydration may be winning
The statistics do not prove causation, but they strongly suggest that hydration products benefit from broad use cases. They are relevant to training, daily wellness, sweat replacement, recovery, endurance, and general fitness. That makes the category easier to buy repeatedly than a narrow preworkout formula or a specialized weight-management product.
Safety and product quality risks
Sports nutrition is not only about demand. It is also about trust. The safety and labeling data show why consumers and athletes need a careful approach.
Product testing reveals real risk
Sport Integrity Australia reported that 200 sports supplement products were tested in its survey (Sport Integrity Australia research). Of those, 35% contained one or more WADA-prohibited substances (Sport Integrity Australia research). Even more concerning, 57% of the positive products did not list the prohibited ingredients on the packaging or website (Sport Integrity Australia research).
The same research found banned substances in 53% of muscle builders, 49% of fat burners, and 34% of pre-workout supplements tested (Sport Integrity Australia research).
That is a major warning sign for athletes who are subject to anti-doping rules. It also matters for ordinary consumers, because hidden ingredients and inconsistent labeling weaken confidence across the category.
Why this changes how people should read sports nutrition stats
High usage does not equal low risk. In fact, high usage can make risk more important, because more people are exposed to product quality differences. The data on prohibited substances does not mean every product is unsafe. It does mean that consumers should not assume label claims tell the whole story.
Sports nutrition is partly a compliance problem
For athletes, the issue is not just performance. It is also compliance, contamination risk, and verification. A product can be marketed for recovery or performance and still create a problem if the ingredient list is incomplete or inaccurate (Sport Integrity Australia research).
What the data implies for brands, coaches, and consumers
The statistics point to a few practical takeaways. These are not slogans; they are the simplest business and consumer interpretations of the numbers.
For brands
- Build around clear use cases, especially hydration, minerals, and endurance support, because those parts of the market are showing stronger growth (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
- Do not assume preworkout or weight management will carry category growth, because the reported year-over-year trends are weaker in those areas (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
- Expect multi-product stacking, because both general consumers and athletes often use several supplements at once (CDC Data Brief 561; NIH ODS Fact Sheet).
For coaches and trainers
- Match product education to sport type, because endurance, mixed sport, and anaerobic athletes do not use supplements the same way (PMC7279379).
- Focus on simplicity and verification, since more than one-third of tested products in one survey contained prohibited substances (Sport Integrity Australia research).
- Treat hydration as a foundational category, not an afterthought, because it accounts for a large share of the performance nutrition mix (SPINS State of the Industry 2024).
For consumers
- Read labels with skepticism, especially in muscle-building, fat-burning, and preworkout categories where testing has found higher contamination rates (Sport Integrity Australia research).
- Pay attention to age and routine, because supplement use rises sharply in older adults and multi-supplement use is common (CDC Data Brief 561).
- Understand that sports nutrition is broader than athletic performance alone; it also includes general wellness, mineral intake, and everyday hydration support (CDC Data Brief 561; SPINS State of the Industry 2024).