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Should Your Children Take Dietary Supplements?
http://www.raisingchildrennaturally.com/articles/42/1/Should-Your-Children-Take-Dietary-Supplements/Page1.html
Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa
Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa is one of the country’s foremost natural healing experts. A nationally certified massage therapist, nationally certified kinesiologist, state certified dietitian and nationally registered herbalist, he has written or edited 30 books on health topics and has practiced for 35 years. He teaches at all levels, from general public presentations, to professional training programs. You can learn more about him at http://www.kpkhalsa.com. 
By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa
Published on March 26, 2008
 
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), a section of the National Institutes of Health, recently completed a study aimed at determining the prevalence of dietary supplement usage, but also intended to reveal which nutrients children were taking.
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), a section of the National Institutes of Health, recently completed a study that appeared in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The report, “Dietary Supplement Use Among Infants, Children, and Adolescents in the United States, 1999-2002”, was aimed at determining the prevalence of dietary supplement usage, but also intended to reveal which nutrients children were taking.

Lead study author, Mary Frances Picciano, PhD, a senior nutrition research scientist at ODS, and her team of researchers analyzed data from 1999-2002, which included material on children from birth through 18 years of age.

The scientists reported that about 32%, or about one-third of U.S. children, consume dietary supplements. The lowest use is in infants younger than one year (12%) and teenagers 14- to 18-years-old (26%). The highest usage rate is among four- to eight-year-old children (49%). The largest subgroup (18%) being taken was multivitamins and multi-minerals. Ascorbic acid (27%), vitamin A (26%), vitamin D (26%), calcium (21%) and iron (19%) made up large segments.

According to Dr. Picciano, ODS wants to find out if children are obtaining nutrients that are low in their diets, or if they are supplementing diets unnecessarily.

Dr. Picciano is of the opinion that a proper diet is the best source of nutrients. She says, “Guidelines for nutrient intake are spearheaded by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They recommend children should ideally be getting nutrients from food, but if they do not obtain them from food for whatever reason, then supplementation is suggested.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends fluoride, calcium and iron to promote optimal growth and development in children. That organization has made special recommendations for vitamin D, emphasizing the importance of supplementing vitamin D to breastfed infants, as well as to children who are consuming less than 500 milliliters of fortified milk per day.

Iron and calcium are especially important to adolescents as their bodies undergo an intensive growth spurt. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, only 10% of girls and 25% of boys get the calcium they need in the tween years (ages 9-13) to build peak bone mass.

A 2007 survey of parents of school-aged children was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation and it found that 60% of parents are in the dark when it comes to knowing how much calcium their kids need on a daily basis. Perhaps not surprisingly, over 30% of the parents surveyed mistakenly believe their children need less than half of the daily recommended 1300 mg of calcium for kids aged nine years and older.