Pediatricians Share The Top Nutrients Kids Don’t Get Enough Of

It’s the time of year when caregivers are carting kids to the pediatrician’s office for an annual back-to-school check-up. As pediatricians meet with kiddos and check in on their growth, one paradox they are collectively confronting is the rise in obesity in children, as well as nutrient deficiency.
Certainly it’s true that not everyone has access to healthy foods. According to Feeding America, 13 million children in the U.S. are food insecure, which means they don’t have enough food to eat. This is why subsidized school breakfast and lunch programs are vital. Perhaps your family has access to healthy foods — you just don’t know if your kids are eating enough of them.
What are the big nutrients kids aren’t getting enough of? Keep reading to find out, along with how you can make sure your kids are getting enough.
Dr. Gary Kirkilas, a pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, told HuffPost there’s one nutrient in particular that the vast majority of kids don’t get enough of: vitamin D. Scientific research backs this up, showing that 60% of children ages 6 to 11 have a vitamin D deficiency.
Kirkilas explained that what’s tricky about vitamin D is that it isn’t found in many foods. While it is found in foods including salmon, mushrooms, eggs and cow’s milk, the primary way to get enough is through sunlight. According to the National Institutes of Health, spending between five and 30 minutes in the sun (depending on the time of day) without sunscreen each day should be enough to meet the daily recommended amount of vitamin D. Yes, sunscreen is important — dermatologists will always advise to wear sunscreen diligently — but so is getting enough of this crucial nutrient. “Vitamin D plays a big role in immune health, blood pressure [regulation] and mental health,” Kirkilas said. He added that vitamin D is also important for calcium absorption, which plays a big role in bone development.
With all this in mind, consider this your sign to prompt your kids to play outside for 30 minutes a day — especially if they’re not a fan of fish, eggs, milk or mushrooms, which are big food sources of the nutrient.
There’s a good chance both you and your kids aren’t getting enough fiber. According to scientific research, 95% of adults and kids in the U.S. aren’t getting enough. “[This is because] many kids aren’t eating vegetables, fruit and whole grains,” said Janae Bagley, a registered dietitian at Children’s Health, namechecking three big sources of the nutrient. Bagley explained that when kids don’t get enough fiber, they’re more likely to get sick and are at increased risk for obesity. This is because fiber-rich foods tend to be nutrient-rich while low-fiber foods tend to be nutrient-poor, but high in carbs and sugar.
Bagley also pointed out that fiber is a key nutrient for digestion, so if your child isn’t getting enough, they’re more likely to experience digestive problems, including constipation or diarrhea.
To help your kids get enough, Bagley’s advice for caregivers is to ensure fiber-rich foods are part of every meal. “Caregivers should offer fruits and vegetables at every meal and at snack time. More exposure to fruits and vegetables increases the acceptance of them. It’s also easy to substitute whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta to increase fiber. Beans are also a great source of fiber that can be snuck into almost any dish,” she said.
“Lutein and zeaxanthin are two top nutrients that elementary school-age children often don’t get enough of. These nutrients support eye health and cognitive functions, such as memory and attention,” said pediatrician Dr. Tanya Altmann.
Altmann explained that when kids don’t get enough lutein and zeaxanthin, it could negatively impact their retinas. “A deficiency in these nutrients can lead to poorer visual performance, including difficulties with reading and recognizing details, which can affect learning and academic performance,” she said. Altmann added that research has also shown that lutein and zeaxanthin support brain health and are important for concentration, memory and attention — all of which is important for doing well in school.
There’s no official recommended daily allowance for lutein and zeaxanthin, but Altmann recommends that kids get 10 milligrams a day of lutein and 2 milligrams a day of zeaxanthin. How can you help make that happen? These nutrients are found in leafy greens and colorful fruits and veggies, so try to incorporate these types of foods into your family meals.
“By incorporating more green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and broccoli into meals, and other good sources such as colorful fruits and eggs, [caregivers] can significantly contribute to their children’s health,” Altmann said.
As kids move into adolescents, their nutritional needs change slightly. “There’s a huge increase in how much kids grow during this time,” pediatrician Dr. Rebekah Diamond told HuffPost. That means that tweens need to eat more than they used to and it’s even more important that they are getting enough nutrients.
Kirkilas said that middle and high school is also when many kids experiment with specific eating plans. For example, a tween or teen may express interest in going vegan. While Kirkilas shared that tweens and teens aren’t in danger of being nutrient-deficient if they decide to give up animal products, meeting all their nutrient needs will be trickier and requires special education on how to do it. For this reason, he recommends tweens and teens committing to a specific eating plan or diet work with a registered dietitian.
Kirkilas said that many of the tweens and teens he sees are often uber-focused on getting enough protein — especially teen boys — but this is not a nutrient the vast majority of kids in the U.S. need to worry about. “The typical American diet has a lot of red meat in it, so most people are getting enough protein,” he said. That said, there are some nutrients caregivers of tweens or teens should be extra mindful of, which are highlighted below.
As girls go through puberty, Diamond said they need to consume more iron to make up for what is lost during menstruation. Roughly 40% of teen girls in the U.S. don’t get enough iron, a nutrient that’s important for growth and immune health. (According to the National Institutes for Health, teen boys need 11 milligrams a day of iron and teen girls need 15 milligrams a day.)
Both Diamond and Kirkilas said that teens who don’t eat meat are at increased risk for not getting enough iron. Some plant-based ways to get it include nuts, beans, lentils, spinach and peas.
Forty-five percent of tweens and teens aren’t getting enough calcium. “A lot of teens aren’t drinking cow’s milk these days,” Kirkilas said. (The “Got Milk?” era is officially over.) He explained that calcium is an important nutrient for growth and bone health — especially during puberty and the teen years when growth is rapid.
Tweens and teens need 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day and, as Kirkilas alluded to, dairy is a great way to get there. But other good sources of calcium include salmon, tofu, spinach, kale, beans and broccoli.
If your child — no matter how old they are — is a picky eater and blood tests indicate that they are not getting enough of a certain nutrient, that’s when the pediatricians say it’s worth having them take a supplement. Kirkilas also reiterated that as tweens and teens start deciding for themselves what to eat, it’s helpful for them to learn what meeting their nutrient needs look like, which can include working with a dietitian.
While it’s helpful to know what nutrients your kids may not be getting enough of, there’s no need to get too obsessed. “Most kids in the U.S. aren’t at a severe risk for malnutrition,” Kirkilas said, adding that what’s most important is that they eat a varied diet. Bagley echoed this and tells parents not to get discouraged if kids don’t like a new food the first (or even fifth) time they try it. “It can take a child up to 15 times of trying a food before they will accept it,” she said. “Eventually, with time and exposure, kids will add new foods to their list of acceptable foods. Some kids are quick to warm up to new foods while others can take months to get comfortable with new foods.”
Bagley encourages parents to lead by example, too. When kids see you enjoying nutrient-rich foods, they may be more likely to eat them too. And family meals that have healthy foods front and center means each person will be getting their fill — a win for everyone around the table.