Feb 03 2009
Think twice before giving Vitamin supplements to your Kids!
Recently the trend of parents giving vitamin and mineral supplements to their kids, became a hit in many countries. Virtually! Because, more and more people are giving daily doses of vitamins and mineral supplements to their children. And, I can see that most kids in my locality takes daily doses of vitamins. The reason of taking vitamins may vary with situation and person, but we must admit that there is definitely an increase in this trend. Ask any drug store worker. Most parents buys over the counter vitamin and mineral supplements for their kids!
But, today I read about something that might give those parents a reason to think once again about what they are doing! I read that, a study by the researchers at UC Davis Children’s Hospital reveals that most of the children and teenagers in the United States who take vitamins don’t really need them and most children who really need to take vitamins aren’t getting them! Is it not strange?
The study, led by Ulfat Shaikh, assistant professor of pediatrics at the UC Davis School of Medicine and a clinician at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, analyzed data from 10,828 children between 2 and 17 years old who took part in the 1999 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The researchers looked at vitamin and mineral supplement users and considered various factors like physical activity, the types of foods they ate, health insurance etc.
The researchers found that, among children who were in excellent health, about 37 % took vitamins. On the other hand, only about 28 % of children in fair or poor health took vitamins. Even 30-40% of children who regularly eat healthy food takes multivitamin supplements. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend giving vitamin supplements to healthy children over 1 year old. And in fact, supplements are medically unnecessary for healthy children and teenagers who regularly eat healthy food.
So, parents with kids must give a proper look on the health of their children, before forcing them to pop vitamin tablets! Does your kid really need Vitamin supplements? Ask yourself? Experts tells us improve the quality of food. instead of using supplements. Include food items in your child’s diet, that provides more vitamins and minerals and forget about vitamin supplements!
Via: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/
