Vitamin kids

A study has revealed more than a quarter of parents supplement their children's diet with vitamins but some experts are warning parents are going overboard and need to be careful.

A survey commissioned by John West has revealed that more than a quarter of children aged five to 10 are fed vitamin tablets.

For the report's consultant, Professor Andrew Sinclair, this is a surprising statistic.

"I'm surprised by the extent of supplement use when most nutritionists regard whole foods as the best options for all meals," Professor Sinclair said.

Professor Sinclair says eating fish is a better option, "...because you're getting a range of nutrients and this is also filling the children up."

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A dose of vitamins by the bottle is a daily ritual for 7 year old Oliver and 4 year old Patrick. Their mother Danielle Milne believes it's vital for her two growing boys.

"My kids don't eat fish a lot. I mean they probably eat fish about once a week sometimes twice if we get fish fingers on a Friday night... but fish oil is really good for brain power and they're both at school now and they need to concentrate, so I think its really good for them," Danielle said.

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Paediatric nutritionist Tania Ferraretto fears taking vitamins can discourage children from developing healthy eating habits.

"This study did find that children as young as five are taking supplements. To think that children this young are doing that, its not really very encouraging for them to develop healthy eating habits as they get older," paediatric nutritionist Tania Ferraretto said.

Parents are finding it hard to pack their kids a healthy lunchbox.

More than 40% of parents find it too expensive to provide a healthy diet, almost a third just didn't have the time, around half said their children were fussy eaters and a quarter blamed their child's friends for influencing what they eat.

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Tania says most children don't need vitamins supplements.

"If we are sort of self diagnosing things and using supplements, there is a risk that you may miss something and mask an underlying medical problem," she said.

In any supermarket or chemist you'll generally find rows of vitamins marketed en mass to children - some are sold with free crayons and others feature cartoon characters, formed in the shape of animals. It's a marketing masterstroke.

"They're bright colours and sort of clashing colours and vibrant things that stand out on the shelves, all the kinds of things that you would expect to attract children. Ultimately children aren't the decision makers but there’s certainly that issue of pester power," marketing expert Stephen Downes said

It's a winning recipe for an industry worth about $1.3 billion a year.

"I think some marketers are probably sensing a growing level of concern in the community about children's diet, about children's nutrition, about obesity and things like that and that certainly plays on parental concerns, perhaps even a little bit of guilt," Stephen said.