do vitamin and mineral supplements contribute to nutrient adequacy or excess among US infants and toddlers?
OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of dietary supplement use in a random sample of US infants 4 to 24 months of age, and to compare demographic characteristics, usual nutrient intakes, and food patterns of supplement users and nonusers. DESIGN: Data from 24-hour recalls collected for the 2002 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study were analyzed. Recalls included nutrient contributions from dietary supplements as well as all foods and beverages. We estimated usual energy and nutrient intakes of supplement users and nonusers, as well as the prevalence of nutrient adequacy and excess in the two groups. We also compared demographic characteristics and food patterns of supplement users and nonusers and, for supplement users, estimated the proportion of total intake provided by foods and the proportion provided by supplements. SUBJECTS: A national random sample of 3,022 infants and toddlers age 4 to 24 months, including 430 vitamin and/or mineral supplement users and 2,592 nonusers. STATISTICAL
