Health halo effect in supplement marketing: A content analysis of unregulated medical claims in community pharmacies
Marwan Alrasheed, Saad Alobid, Mohammed Almasoud, Basmah Alfageh, Rawan Almadfaa, Reema Almoqran, Abdulaziz Alkhonizan, Aliyah Almobarak, Faisal Nasser, Musab Gari, Abdulrahman AlsuhibaniBackground
Dietary supplements are widely promoted online, often using persuasive health claims that may contribute to the “health halo effect,” where consumers may infer unproven therapeutic benefits. In Saudi Arabia, the rise of online listings by nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies has amplified the visibility of such claims, raising questions about their regulatory compliance.
Objective
To examine the nature and regulatory risk of health-related claims in dietary supplements marketed by nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies through Saudi pharmacy websites and assess their alignment with SFDA guidelines.
Methods
A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted on 209 supplement products which yielded 251 distinct health-related claims extracted from leading Saudi pharmacy websites. Claims were thematically categorized and assessed using a rule-based natural language processing (NLP) classifier aligned with Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) regulatory tiers. Each claim was assigned a risk level of low, medium, or high, based on language and references to medical conditions. A verb frequency analysis was conducted to explore linguistic patterns. Chi-square testing was used to examine the association between claim categories and regulatory risk.
Results
Of the 251 claims analyzed, 173 (68.9%) were classified as low risk, 7 (2.8%) as medium risk, and 71 (28.3%) as high risk. The most common claim categories were bone/joint health (14%), immune support (10%), general wellness/wellbeing (10%), hair/skin/nails (7%), energy/fatigue (7%), antioxidant/detox (6%), and cardiovascular health (6%). High-risk claims were most concentrated in categories related to bone/joint health, general wellness, and cardiovascular support. The most frequent action verbs were “support,” “improve,” and “treat.” A significant association was observed between claim category and regulatory risk level (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
A substantial proportion of supplement claims implies therapeutic benefit. Strengthening regulatory oversight and consumer education is essential to mitigate the health halo effect and ensure safe supplement use.