Vitamins for Kids
Angela Marks

As adults, we know the importance of vitamin supplementation, but what about our youth? As we become more technologically advanced, a large percentage of our children are not only not getting enough exercise, but due to the poor quality of soil and environmental factors, their diet may be lacking in some key nutrients. In fact, according to one source, less than 70 percent of American children and less than 90 percent of American teenage girls get enough calcium. This is astaggering figure given the wide variety of calcium-fortified foods. Even environmental tobacco smoke can significantly decrease your child's levels of vitamin C. In addition, the lifestyle habits children form during youth may lead to increased chance of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other preventable factors that can put them at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. A study published in the September 2000 issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that there is an association between high blood pressure and low intake of vitamins, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Over the years, many people have contacted Cooper Clinic for a recommendation of a quality multivitamin for their child. However, due to a lack of careful monitoring by the FDA on such products, we simply did not feel confident in making any suggestions. To address the need for our children and young adults to supplement their diet, we have continued to collaborate with our consultants and review the scientific literature.

Dr. Cooper and colleagues developed two multivitamin and mineral supplements to meet the nutritional needs of your children and your growing teenagers. Last year we introduced Cooper Complete Kids, which is suggested for children between 5-12 years of age, and Cooper Complete Young Adult, which is suggested for young adults between the ages of 13-17 years of age. Both new multivitamins are packaged in bottles containing 60 tablets, with a recommended dosage of one tablet daily, taken with meals.

It is important to start your children off with good habits and enable them to make healthy choices later in life. As we have stressed to you, it is important to get exercise most days of the week, if not daily; this is certainly true for your children as well. While we would like to think that our youth are getting plenty of exercise at school, this is often not the case. These days, physical education is not required and oftentimes the quality of the classes is such that they are not focused on the importance of cardiovascular exercise. Although there are some top-notch physical education programs, unfortunately these are the classes that receive the smallest budget and are the most neglected in the school’s curriculum. We encourage you to find ways—outside of school—to get your child or teen to be more physically active. Dr. Cooper's book Fit Kids contains practical information and strategies to assist you in creating an environment that is conducive to optimal health for your children. The book can help you identify foods that are essential for optimal growth and development at different stages of childhood, and it outlines nutritional strategies for special issues such as obesity, eating disorders, vegetarianism, and the needs of young athletes.

Contact Us

Ordering Info:
(877) 2-HEALTH
(888) 393-2221

 

General Info:
12200 Preston Road
Dallas, TX 75230
Phone: 972/560-2702
Fax: 972/560-3260
Send us an e-mail