Kids Are Big Users of Dietary Supplements, Study Finds

Kids are taking their vitamins.

More American kids are taking dietary supplements, multivitamins and multiminerals, according to a National Institute of Health study.

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Researchers studied more than 10,000 children from 1999 through 2002 in a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that more than 30 percent of American children take some form of dietary supplement regularly.

Dietary supplements were used by 31.8 percent of children 18 years or younger, including kids younger than 1 year, 38.4 percent of those ages 1 to 3, 40.6 percent of those ages 4 to 8, 28.9 percent of those ages 9 to 13 and 25.7 percent of those ages 14 to 18.

The study also looked at ethnic behavior. Supplements were taken by 38.3 percent of non-Hispanic children while 22.4 percent of Mexican-American and 18.8 percent of non-Hispanic black children were taking some type of a supplement.

Supplement use was also linked to higher family incomes, smoke-free environments, a lower Body Mass Index, the amount of television viewed and video game and computer time.