Adequacy of vitamin D intakes in children and teenagers from the base diet, fortified foods and supplements

Objective: To describe vitamin D intakes in children and teenagers and the contribution from supplements and fortified foods in addition to the base diet. Design Analysis of 7 d weighed food records collected during the Children's and Teens' National Nutrition Surveys in Ireland. Food composition data for vitamin D were updated from international analytical sources. Setting: Nationally representative cross-sectional dietary surveys. Subjects Children (n 594; 5-12 years) and teenagers (n 441; 13-17 years). Results Median vitamin D intakes were 1·9, 2·1 and 2·4 μg/d in 5-8-, 9-12-and 13-17-year-olds, respectively. The prevalence of vitamin D-containing supplement use was 21, 16 and 15 % in 5-8-, 9-12-and 13-17-year-olds and median intakes in users ranged from 6·0 to 6·7 μg/d. The prevalence of inadequate intakes, defined as the percentage with mean daily intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement of 10 μg/d, ranged from 88 to 96 % in supplement users. Foods fortified with vitamin D, mainly breakfast cereals, fat spreads and milk, were consumed by 71, 70 and 63 % of 5-8-, 9-12-and 13-17-year-olds. Non-supplement users who consumed vitamin D-fortified foods had median intakes of 1·9-2·5 μg/d, compared with 1·2-1·4 μg/d in those who did not consume fortified foods. Conclusions: It is currently not possible for children consuming the habitual diet to meet the US Institute of Medicine dietary reference intake for vitamin D. In the absence of nationally representative 25-hydroxyvitamin D data in children, the implications of this observation for prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and health consequences are speculative.