Survey: Six-in-10 U.S. adults take vitamins or supplements

NORTH BERGEN, N.J., June 26 (UPI) -- More than 6-in-10 U.S. adults take a vitamin or supplement, up from 63 percent in 2012 and 60 percent in 2011, a survey for Vitamin Shoppe indicates.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted by Wakefield Research, said vitamin and supplement intake might be on the rise -- but healthy lifestyle habits are not.

Eighty-two percent admitted they don't eat three balanced meals per day. Thirty-seven percent said healthy cooking took too much time, while 29 percent said they work too much to have time for healthy cooking. In fact, 35 percent of respondents said they have gone one week or longer without eating a single fresh vegetable.

The survey found a lack of knowledge among young Americans. One-in-4 Americans ages 18-34 were more likely to know the names of the Kardashian sisters than the food groups.

An overwhelming majority of Americans -- 84 percent -- said women have healthier eating habits than men, 78 percent said vitamins could help people perform better, while 50 percent said vitamins would enhance their work performance. Forty-three percent of men said they turned to vitamins to help enhance their performance at the gym.

The telephone survey was conducted April 16-April 24. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.