NaturalNews.com printable article
Originally published August 26 2008
Millions of U.S. Children are Vitamin D Deficient, Warn Researchers
by David Gutierrez
(NaturalNews) Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among infants and
toddlers, according to a study conducted by researchers from the
Children's Hospital in Boston, and published in the Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone health and development, and
insufficient levels during childhood can lead to the development of a
bone-softening disorder known as rickets that can lead to permanent
deformities. In adults, deficiency can increase the risk of
osteo****osis. Vitamin D is also believed to play a role in immune
system health and preventing cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in 380 children between
the ages of eight and 24 months. Most of the children were black or
Hispanic, and 80 percent lived in urban areas.
The researchers found that 40 percent of the children had insufficient
levels of vitamin D, with 12 percent considered vitamin D deficient
and 28 percent at risk of deficiency. These results mirror a prior
study of adolescents by the same research team, which found that 42
percent of teenagers were vitamin D deficient.
The researchers also took bone X-rays of the children in the study,
and found that those classified as vitamin D deficient had lower bone
density than other children.
Because the body produces vitamin D upon exposure to the ultraviolet
radiation from sunlight, people with darker skin who live far from the
equator are thought to be at particular risk for deficiency,
especially in the winter. But the researchers did not find any
correlation between vitamin D deficiency and race or time of year
They did find that people with higher body mass indexes - a measure of
obesity - were more likely to have vitamin D deficiency than those
with a lower relative body weight.
Health professionals believe that one of the reasons for increased
vitamin D deficiency is growing concern over skin cancer, and parents
keeping their children out of the sun or overusing sunscreen, which
blocks ultraviolet radiation.
Sources for this story include: www.wa****ngtonpost.com.
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