The figures demonstrate a small increase since the poll was last carried out, in 2021, when 49% of people said they were unaware of the supplementation guidelines.
Worryingly, however, 44% of respondents said they never took vitamin D supplements – an increase from the 39% reported in 2021.
Reasons for avoiding intake included a preference not to take supplements (25%); a lack of awareness regarding the benefits of supplementation (22%) or which supplement to take (13%); and concerns around affordability (14%).
Bridget Benelam, nutrition communications manager at the British Nutrition Foundation, told Vitafoods Insights: "We don’t have enough data from our surveys to see clear trends, but it doesn’t appear that there has been an increase in awareness or in people taking vitamin D supplements in recent years. We haven’t seen any large-scale communications to raise awareness of the government recommendations on vitamin D, so it's perhaps not surprising that more people have not heard of the advice."
Asked whether the cost-of-living crisis could be a contributing factor, she said: "We know that people’s budgets are really tight at the moment. While you can get vitamin D supplements that are relatively inexpensive, when people are struggling to afford the basics then anything extra is going to be a challenge."
Fall in number of people taking vitamin D supplements
As the human body struggles to make vitamin D from sun exposure during the autumn and winter months, the UK Government recommends that adults and children over 4 years old consider taking a 10 µg/day vitamin D supplement between October and March. People at risk of vitamin D deficiency, and infants and children up to 4 years old, are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round.
However, the BNF survey found that while 28% of respondents stated they were aware of this recommendation, fewer than one in 10 (7%) admitted to taking supplements between October and March, while one in four (24%) said they did so all year round.
These figures are slightly lower than 2021, when 8% said they took vitamin D supplements between October and March, and 26% reported taking them throughout the year.
Benelam added: “The lack of awareness around the need for vitamin D supplements at this time of year is concerning as vitamin D is essential for keeping our bones and muscles healthy. While we can get some vitamin D from our diet, our main source is sunlight exposure on the skin.
“National surveys show that more than one in 10 of us have low levels of vitamin D in the blood, so it is really important that we raise awareness of the need to consider supplements from October to March to maintain the levels we need for good health.”
Reasons cited for taking supplements included being advised to do so by a healthcare professional (31%); wanting to maintain or improve general health (40%); and being aware of not getting enough vitamin D from diet and sunlight (33%).
For the EU population, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends 10 µg/day vitamin D supplementation for infants aged seven to 11 months, and 15 µg/day for all other population groups.
Asked about the role of industry, Benelam said: "Stakeholders across society can help to raise awareness of issues like vitamin D and industry can help to play their part, not only in raising awareness of supplements but also of the role that foods fortified with vitamin D can play."
