抄録
In recent years, as people's lifestyles have changed and we've become more health conscious, there's been a stronger demand for food products that are healthier and/or have added value. This means that people not only want food products that contain various ingredients, but also have functional ingredients that are sufficiently effective to maintain health.
Due to the increase in the health-conscious movement, we can expect the market for health food products with functional ingredients, including health food products and supplements, to continue to expand. Additionally, there has been a marked increase in the awareness of alternative healthcare and self-medication, meaning that more consumers are purchasing health food products to prevent disease and conserve/enhance health, just because they are easy to obtain. Unfortunately, they do this without careful consideration.
The health food product market stimulates people's willingness to purchase these products by annually replacing product types and using advertising images that give people high expectations of new effects.
In many cases, the effectiveness of health food products - in both the areas of safety and scientific proof - leave much to be desired. Among the various raw materials used for health food products, some have been proven effective through clinical research, but there's no guarantee that a product using the same raw material will have the same effect on the human body.
Also in recent years, illegal products, which intentionally contain medical components with diuretic, cathartic and appetite suppressing actions to enhance effects, have entered the market.
One of the most recent concerns is the interaction between various health food products that have physiological functions and real medicines. As Japanese society rapidly ages, the usage of both health food products and medicines will increase, making their interaction an important issue.
The proper usage of health food products will be established only when consumers can choose products suitable for their dietary habits and lifestyles, correctly understand labels and advertising and make judgments about whether they contain ingredients their bodies need. That means consumers need to develop a more realistic attitude toward these products.
