Adequate nutrition intake is important for kids due to growth and development. On top of that, having a balanced nutrition helps in preventing health conditions such as malnutrition and overweight.
Are vitamins and supplements necessary for healthy children?
Kids are able to obtain adequate nutrients from their daily food intake. Therefore, vitamins and supplements are supposed to be given to children who have symptoms or diagnosed with vitamins deficiency. However, kids who are not taking balanced meal will tend to have inadequate nutrients. For examples, those kids are like picky eaters, having irregular meal intakes, having digestive health conditions or having food restrictions due to allergies.
Besides, kids who are on vegetarian or vegan diet tend to be lacking in iron, vitamin B12, zinc and calcium. Thus, vitamins and supplements are suitable to be given to kids in the categories mentioned. Children can take vitamins and supplements to boost their immune system and appetite. Besides, studies found that more than 50% of Malaysian children do not obtain adequate calcium and vitamin D as suggested in Recommended Nutrients Intake (RNI) Malaysia. Therefore, calcium and vitamin D supplements can be given to children who do not take dairy products and vegetables daily.
How to ensure that your child is getting enough nutrition through their diet?
- Take meal on time, avoid skipping meals
- Take balanced meal and adequate protein portion using Malaysian Healthy Plate (quarter quarter half)
- Take dairy products daily such as milk (2 glasses a day)
- Increase intake of wholegrain products, choose wholegrain cereal, oat biscuit, etc
- Add on healthy snacks by choosing fruits, vegetable chips, yoghurt, cereal, blended fruits sorbet, etc
- Reduce on fast food, processed food, sugary beverages and high calorie snacks
- Expose to sunlight (15-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week) or do more outdoor activities for bone health
Miss Yap Pau Lin
Dietician,
Columbia Asia Hospital – Iskandar Puteri
