Surprise at how few children take vitamin supplements

Oct 2 2007

Recent research into the consumption of vitamin and mineral dietary supplements has revealed a few surprises.

In a study carried out by researchers at the National Institutes of Health it has been found that fewer children than expected take dietary supplements.

Based on a nationally representative survey conducted from 1999 to 2002 that included 10,136 children age 18 or younger, the researchers say that only 32 percent of American children used a dietary supplement and they are surprised that the number is so low.

This compares to 50 percent of the U.S. adult population.

The researchers found that the most commonly used supplements were multivitamins and multiminerals, which were taken by 18 percent of the children.

Just 4 percent used single-vitamin supplements and 2 percent used single-mineral supplements, with under 1 percent using botanical supplements.

The researchers say the remaining supplement users took a diverse array of other supplement types.

Thirty percent of the adult population take a multivitamin multimineral preparation and Dr. Mary Frances Picciano who led the study, says it was anticipated that the usage would be higher among children than it would be among adults but the opposite was true.

The research also revealed that children using supplements were more likely to be thinner, from a higher-income non-smoking family, and spend less time watching television and playing video games.

It was also found that non-Hispanic white children were about twice as likely as black children to take supplements.

When it came to age groups, the most likely to be taking a dietary supplement were those ages 4 to 8, followed by ages 1 to 3, ages 9 to 13, ages 14 to 18 and infants younger than a year old.

The findings were particularly surprising because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends vitamin D supplements for infants who are breast-fed and vitamin D and calcium are classic examples of nutrients that cannot be reliably provided by the diet.

Experts say that a proper diet containing a balance of all the food groups remains the best source of nutrition for children and dietary supplements cannot compensate for a poor diet.

However they say doctors may recommend supplements for certain children who are at risk of deficiency.

The study appears in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.