In affluent countries such as the U.S., it is difficult to believe that vitamin and mineral deficiencies exist. Most of the U.S. population suffers from over-nutrition rather than under-nutrition, says Nelda Mercer, R.D., consultant and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
With approximately half of the U.S. population categorized as overweight, one would think that people are consuming more than the recommended amounts of essential nutrients. But the reality is that "due to factors such as lifestyle, age and underlying disease" some people are deficient in essential nutrients. Recent studies have pointed to some specific cases of micro-deficiencies in select groups of people.