Risk Omission and Limited Disclosure in Dietary Supplement Promotion by Social Media Influencers

Summary

This cross-sectional content analysis of 1,120 Instagram supplement presentations by 84 influencers in Switzerland and Austria found that 97.5% were promotional in tone and 97.1% involved advertising, yet 73.7% lacked advertising disclosure. Benefits were mentioned in only 24.0% of presentations whilst harms appeared in just 2.3%; notably, no presentation communicated drug interactions, contamination risks, or contraindications. The analysis reveals a substantial imbalance in risk–benefit communication and highlights the need for stronger regulatory oversight of supplement marketing on social media.

Regional applicability

Although conducted in Switzerland and Austria, the findings are likely applicable to United Kingdom social media environments, where dietary supplements are similarly marketed by influencers with minimal regulatory oversight. UK regulatory frameworks (MHRA, ASA) could use this evidence to inform guidance on influencer advertising disclosure and risk communication standards for supplements.

Key measures

Supplement types, advertising disclosure presence/absence, promotional tone, benefit mentions (n, %), harm mentions (n, %), presence/absence of drug interaction warnings, contamination risk communication, contraindication warnings, influencer type, logistic regression estimates (adjusted OR with 95% CI)

Outcomes reported

Content analysis of 1,120 dietary supplement presentations on Instagram examining advertising disclosure rates, communication of benefits versus harms, and influencer characteristics. The study measured prevalence of promotional tone, advertising disclosure, benefit and harm mentions, and specific risk communications (drug interactions, contamination, contraindications).

Topic tags