Tiny Tummies: The Supplement Debate

While reading my scientific journals, I came across some interesting findings published in the MMWR by physician Bryan Stierman and colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital who used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for patients aged 19 years and younger. Their review of the data found that approximately 1/3 of children and teens are taking dietary supplements. The study sample was quite large, with 3,683 participants. So it gives us a good idea that what they found is quite typical. And in that sample the researchers noticed that 34% of the participants had taken supplements in the past 30 days with girls using supplements slightly more than boys. 

And whey they compared their results with the results of previous studies, it appears that dietary supplements may help to mitigate, or lessen, nutrient shortfalls from a unbalanced diet but may also lead to nutrient intake above recommended upper limits for some nutrients. So this tells us that supplements can be a good thing in certain situations but need to be used with caution. A review of literature by pharmacist Edward A. Bell notes that data supporting the use if supplements in otherwise healthy individuals is weak. 

So, based on this data, the question that jumps to mind is: Are nutritional supplements safe for kids?