Abstract
A total of 502 subjects (222 men, 280 women), age 20 years and older from 82 randomly selected barangays in Metro Manila were interviewed during the Fifth National Nutrition Survey in 1998 to determine their awareness, perceptions, and extent of usage of nutraceuticals. The majority of respondents, 62.5%, were not aware of nutraceutical products. Among those who were aware, 77.1% were nonusers, 11.7 were regular users, and the rest (11.2%) were sporadic users of nutraceuticals. The duration of use ranged from 1 day only to 2 years; most subjects had used nutraceutical products intermittently for 1 month. The majority of users reported that nutraceuticals made them healthy and that someone had influenced them to take the products. The most popular supplement used was fish oil, followed by aloe vera and multivitamins plus minerals. Calcium and iron supplements were used by some sporadic users. The respondents' agreement or disagreement with six health belief statements revealed their perception of nutraceuticals. There were no significant differences in the perception of users and nonusers with respect to health belief statements. In general, the level of awareness and usage of nutraceutical products in Metro Manila may be considered low.
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