Abstract
Only 50% of Dutch children aged 0–4 years receive sufficient daily vitamin D supplementation. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of implementation intentions in promoting vitamin D supplementation among young children. An electronic survey was conducted among parents of children aged 0–4 (n = 171). These parents were randomly assigned to two groups: one that received implementation intention instructions and one that did not. At follow-up, there were no significant between group differences in any outcome measures. These results suggest that merely asking parents to formulate an implementation intention with respect to giving their child daily vitamin D supplementation is insufficient to improve vitamin D intake among young children. However, testing the intervention via the Internet may not have allowed us to exploit the full potential of the strategy. Investigation of the use of implementation intentions in the setting of toddler consultation clinics is therefore recommended.
Highlights
Vitamin D facilitates calcium metabolism and bone mineralization, and is essential in the development of healthful bones during childhood [1]
As the daily amount of vitamin D needed in young children is much higher than that provided by synthesis in the skin or food intake, the Health Council of the Netherlands recommends providing children aged 0–4 with an additional 10 μg of vitamin D per day in the form of drops or pills
The present paper studied the effects of implementation intentions to provide children (0–4 years) with 10 μg of vitamin D per day on (1) the number of parents who perform adequate supplementation behavior, (2) the number of days that the child was given vitamin D supplementation and (3) the number of parents who had vitamin D supplementation at home
Summary
Vitamin D facilitates calcium metabolism and bone mineralization, and is essential in the development of healthful bones during childhood [1]. As the daily amount of vitamin D needed in young children is much higher than that provided by synthesis in the skin or food intake, the Health Council of the Netherlands recommends providing children aged 0–4 with an additional 10 μg of vitamin D per day in the form of drops or pills. Despite these recommendations, low levels of vitamin D intake among young children in the Netherlands have been found. The mean intake for children aged 2–6 is 3.6 μg/day [1] and, most parents have a high intention to give their child vitamin D supplementation [4], only
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