Why Do Young Men Take Nutritional Supplements? an Analysis of the Advice Provided in Men's Health Magazine

Abstract

The market for supplements has increased substantially within Western nations over the past two to three decades. The following article examines why young men, despite being largely free from ill-health, might take nutritional supplements. It is argued that the advice provided in the popular journal Men’s Health magazine does not unduly bias the evidence base for using nutritional supplements or take a particular stance. Instead, the choice to use supplements may be seen as part of a wider culture concerned with the role of scientific evidence in making health choices, body imagery and body dissatisfaction among men, and the merging of health risk preoccupation with the growing desire to “maximise” health and wellbeing.