Vitamin D Deficiency High in U.S. Children
A new study has found that more than six million children in the U.S. have a deficiency in vitamin D.
According to the Amaerican Academy of Pediatrics, the blood levels of vitamin D in children should be at least 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L). Studies have found that adults with blood levels of vitamn D of at least 75 nmol/L and up to 100 nmol/L could help to reduce the risk of heart disease and specific cancers.
In the recent study, conducted in the U.S., researchers collected data on about 5,000 children under the age of 12 years who participated in the 2001-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers found that almost one in five children, or 6.3 million children, had less than the recommended level of vitamin D.
Furthermore, the researchers discovered that more than two-thirds of children have vitamin D levels below 75 nmol/L, including 80 per cent of Hispanic children, 92 per cent of black children and 59 per cent of white children. The researchers also found that children who took multivitamins that included vitamin D had higher levels overall but less than half of all children were taking a multivitamin.
While exposure to sunlight is the best way of obtaining vitamin D, areas in the northeast that experience winter conditions receive too little sunlight for vitamin D production. A few foods like fatty fish such as salmon, egg yolks, some cheese and certain meats contain vitamin D naturally and milk and some cereals are fortified with vitamin D.
That leaves vitamin D supplements as the best way of getting enough of the vitamin. One expert from the Boston University School of Medicine says from the time a child is born they should be on a minimum 400 IU of vitamin D a day and, after the age of one year, they should be up to 1,000 IU per day while teenagers should be on 2,000 IU a day.
