Intake of dietary supplements in infants and (young) children in Germany
- 09.02.2022
- English Articles
- Katharina Susanne Appel
- Christian Jung
- Nicole Nowak
- Nadine Golsong
- Oliver Lindtner
Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original contribution) received: 10 May 2021 / Revision accepted: 13 September 2021
Results of the KiESEL Study
Introduction
Children are a particularly exposed and at the same time a vulnerable consumer group. Thus they must be considered separately in risk assessment. From 2014 to 2017, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) conducted the Children's Nutrition Survey to Record Food Consumption („Kinder-Ernährungsstudie zur Erfassung des Lebensmittelverzehrs“, KiESEL) as a module of the Study on the Health of Children and Adolescents in Germany („Studie zur Gesundheit von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland“, KiGGS Wave 2) conducted by Robert Koch-Institute (RKI). KiESEL should update and expand the VELS study (Consumption study to determine the food intake of infants and young children for the estimation of an acute toxicity risk from pesticide residues, „Verzehrsstudie zur Ermittlung der Lebensmittelaufnahme von Säuglingen und Kleinkindern für die Abschätzung eines akuten Toxizitätsrisikos durch Rückstände von Pflanzenschutzmitteln“) which was conducted in 2001/2002 [1].
Few current data on the use of dietary supplements (DS) in infants and (young) children (definition: • Overview 1) exist in Germany up to date. Also in the VELS study, no data were collected on the intake of DS in children aged 6 months to 4 years inclusive. Thus, the aim of the KiESEL study is to establish an up-to-date data basis for the risk assessment of both dietary habits and DS intake for children in the first years of life on the basis of recorded consumption data and a questionnaire. ...
Abstract
To improve the knowledge on the nutrition of infants and (young) children, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) conducted the Children´s Nutrition Survey to Record Food Consumption (KiESEL). Data were collected from children aged 0.5 to 5 years (inclusive), selected to be representative for Germany, using a questionnaire (n = 1,104) and a 3 + 1-day weighing protocol (n = 1,008). In this paper, results regarding dietary supplements (DS) intake are reported. According to the questionnaire, based on the past 12 months, 42% of children, as well as 18% of children on the days logged in the food consumption protocols, take DS. Vitamin D represents the majority (78%) of these supplements. A negative age dependence of DS intake on vitamin D supplementation is observed, as well as a positive correlation with parental socioeconomic status. The main motivation is the recommendation by pediatricians.
Key words: Dietary supplements (DS), supplements, children, infants, child nutrition, vitamin D, dietary record
