Vitamin D Deficiency Sweeps over US Kids

Vitamin D deficiency means an insufficient serum level of vitamin D. It is a condition which is linked with low calcium content, high blood pressure and cholesterol content, and conducive to contracting bone and heart diseases.

Pediatrics published a study that says that of ten American children seven have vitamin D deficiency in different forms.

The statistics show that nine percent of the examined children have a serum concentration under 15 ng/mL and therefore can be classified as “vitamin D deficient”, while 61% were found “vitamin D insufficient” – their vitamin D level runs between 15 and 29 ng/mL.

Older and obese children as well as girls seem to show a higher percentage of the deficiency; non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans also seem to be more vulnerable to it.

Among the children suffering from insufficient serum level are those who drank too little milk (not weekly) and those spending too many hours at their computers, watching TV or playing games.

The deficiency can be made up through taking multivitamins containing 400 international units (IUs) of vitamin D. Yet scientists warn that in too large doses vitamin may increase the risk of developing kidney problems and having kidney stones.

So in summer parents are well advised to encourage their children to spend a quarter of an hour (at the very least) in the sun away from video screens, and a short exposure to the sun rays will amend matters!

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/fonk.