Supplement Use Up in Kids

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

Dietary supplements are a way of life for many health-conscious consumers. With products ranging from vitamins to weight loss aids, the supplement business is booming. You may be surprised to learn that kids are now getting on board the supplement bandwagon.

According to a study in the October 2007 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, dietary supplement use among infants, children and teens is becoming more and more prevalent. From 1999 to 2002, 31.8% of children used some type of dietary supplement, with the lowest levels reported for infants younger than 1 year and for teens 14–18 years old. Use was highest among non-Hispanic whites (38.1%) and Mexican Americans (22.4%), and lowest among non-Hispanic black participants (18.8%). No difference was seen between genders. Supplement use was most often associated with higher-income families.

The types of supplement most frequently used by children were multivitamins and multiminerals, followed by ascorbic acid, retinol, vitamin D, calcium and iron.

The study researchers expressed some safety concerns regarding rampant use of supplements in this population: “More than 30% of children in the United States take dietary supplements regularly, most often multivitamins and multiminerals,” they wrote. “Given such extensive use, nutrient intakes from dietary supplements must be included [on packaging and labels] to obtain accurate estimates of overall nutrient intakes in children.”