Study shows children lack Vitamin D

More than half of otherwise healthy children in a study had low blood levels of Vitamin D and some were so deficient that they could develop serious health problems in later life, including rickets, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that 55 percent of the 382 study participants, ages 6 to 21, had inadequate levels of Vitamin D in their blood. That number rose to 68 percent during winter months.
Children spend less time outside and drink less milk as they age, so their levels of Vitamin D have declined, said Babette Zemel, director of the Nutrition and Growth Laboratory at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who worked on the study.

A deficiency in childhood could become problematic later in life, Zemel said. The vitamin is needed by the immune system, and a deficiency may contribute to cancer and diabetes.

"We're finding so many broad health effects of Vitamin D in adulthood," she said, "that it's important to assure good Vitamin D status throughout the life cycle."

The study was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In particular, the study found that 94 percent of black children tested had insufficient amounts of Vitamin D, Zemel said. Of these, 19 percent of black participants had levels of Vitamin D so low they were at risk for rickets, the study found. Rickets is a Vitamin D deficiency that results in bone deformity.

Vitamin D is produced naturally by the body. From spring to early fall, Ultraviolet B rays are strong enough to cause a chemical reaction that produces Vitamin D from a precursor in the body, Zemel said. The body can store Vitamin D for three months.

On average, Zemel said, 15 minutes of sun exposure, without sunscreen, three times a week will yield adequate levels of Vitamin D.

Fortified milk and cod liver oil are the main dietary sources of Vitamin D, Zemel said. Small amounts of the vitamin also are found in fortified orange juice, egg yolk and fish.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends that people up to age 50 get 200 International Units of Vitamin D per day, the amount in two cups of milk. At age 51, the recommended intake doubles.


source:www.newsday.com