THE USE OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS BY 4-12 YEAR OLDS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

Objective: To determine the levels of and factors associated with the use of nutritional supplements by children participating in the Nation al Study of Health and Growth (NSHG). Design: Cross-sectional study. S etting: Fifty-six study areas in England and Scotland. Subjects: Fifte en thousand, two hundred and seventy five children aged between 4 and 12 y. Interventions: Parental completion of a self-administered questi onnaire on the child's health, social background and supplement use. H eight, weight and skinfold measurements. Results: An 88% response rate to the supplement question, 15.9% of responders reported using a supp lement. Multivitamins were the most commonly consumed supplement (84%) with 52% taking a supplement daily. Younger children, those whose mot hers reached further education, whose fathers were in non-manual occup ations or who lived in the Midlands or South were significantly more l ikely to use a supplement, as were children from smaller families or w hose parents were non-smokers. There was no significant association be tween supplement use and sex, height, birthweight, length of gestation , father's education, number of parents in the home or vegetarianism. Significant differences were found in the use of supplements between t he ethnic origin groups. Children of Afro-Caribbean, Asian or other or igin were more likely to take a supplement compared to white English a nd Scottish groups. There were differences in the type of supplements used with Afro-Caribbean and other origin children using more cod live r oil. Conclusion: We support the findings of other studies which show that children with the least need for supplements as defined by socio -economic variables are more likely to receive them and suggest that c ultural background is also an important factor in influencing suppleme nt use.