Fifteen percent of parents of preschool kids have given dietary supplements to their children, mostly in the hope of improving their health even though there are no medical grounds for doing so, the National Institute of Health and Nutrition said in a study released Monday.
"Even if they contain substances the body needs, continuing to give them could lead to an excessive intake and have harmful effects on small children," the institute warned, saying there is a lack of data to verify the effectiveness and safety of supplements for children.
The study was conducted between May and September 2007 at 21 kindergartens and nurseries across Japan, dealing with data from 1,533 parents of children up to 6 years old.