In the 50's they built more elementary schools to serve the Baby Boomers; in the 60's high schools, and now forty-some years later, we're nearing retirement age in aging bodies. Gross makes a big deal about how much the nutritional supplement business is growing, when it may only be due to demographics. After all, the boomers followed the smallest cohort in American history (relatively speaking) -- the Silent generation (1925-1945).

So, there may not necessarily be a greater percentage of people gobbling down supplements; it may all be due to the simple swelling of the market with more potential customers.

Hey, I'm going to have a total hip replacement in January, but I'm taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements on the off chance it will maintain the cartilege in my right hip. The benefits of doing so may be marginal, but buy-one-get-one free specials at CVS make it worth the possibility. This has nothing to do with a fad and everything to do with looming geezerdom.