A Parenting & kids forum. ParentingBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » ParentingBanter.com forum » misc.kids » Kids Health
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Vitamin D often low in seemingly healthy girls



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old August 8th 06, 01:48 PM posted to misc.kids.health,sci.med.nutrition
Roman Bystrianyk
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 162
Default Vitamin D often low in seemingly healthy girls

Megan Rauscher, "Vitamin D often low in seemingly healthy girls",
Reuters UK, August 4, 2006,
Link:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...archived=False

In a study of healthy adolescent girls, researchers found that
insufficient vitamin D levels were a relatively common finding, with
non-white girls more severely affected.

According to the UK-based study team, "reduced sunshine exposure rather
than diet explained the difference in vitamin D status of white and
non-white girls" in the study, reported in the Archives of Disease in
Childhood.

"Vitamin D deficiency during childhood and adolescence," warn Dr. M.
Zulf Mughal and colleagues, "might impair the acquisition of peak bone
mass at the end of skeletal growth and maturation, thereby increasing
the risk of osteoporotic fracture later in life."

Mughal, from Saint Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in
Manchester, and colleagues measured vitamin D levels in 14 white and 37
non-white 14-16-year-old girls attending an inner city multi-ethnic
girls' school in the UK.

Thirty-seven girls (73 percent) were vitamin D deficient, and nine (17
percent) were severely deficient.

Average vitamin D levels were higher in white girls than in non-white
girls.

For the group as a whole, the vitamin D concentration correlated with
the estimated duration of daily sunlight exposure and percentage of
body surface area exposed, but not with estimated intake of vitamin D.

"This is in keeping with the fact that the main source of vitamin D is
that produced by the action of solar ultraviolet B radiation acting on
7-dehydrocholesterol in skin," the team explains. "Only small amounts
are obtained from dietary sources."

As they note, "Avoidance of exposure to sunshine for religious and
cultural beliefs that encourage wearing of concealing clothing and
restriction of outdoor activities has previously been reported as a
risk factor for vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabian adolescents."

In an editorial, Dr. N. J. Bishop, from the University of Sheffield,
UK, expresses concern that "failure to supply an essential nutrient
during a period of rapid growth and development is likely to result in
problems across the population as a whole."

He writes, "We need to take simple, practical measures to reduce the
burden of early bone disease and other later problems." These include
reminding women that breast milk lacks vitamin D and that totally
breastfed infants should be supplemented (irrespective of skin color)
until receiving a full mixed diet.

It remains to be determined, Bishop adds, how to meet the needs of
older children and adolescents from cultures that avoid sunlight.
"Perhaps more exercise outdoors would help deal with this problem."

SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2006.

  #2  
Old August 8th 06, 08:52 PM posted to misc.kids.health,sci.med.nutrition
TC
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default Vitamin D often low in seemingly healthy girls


Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
Megan Rauscher, "Vitamin D often low in seemingly healthy girls",
Reuters UK, August 4, 2006,
Link:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...archived=False

In a study of healthy adolescent girls, researchers found that
insufficient vitamin D levels were a relatively common finding, with
non-white girls more severely affected.

According to the UK-based study team, "reduced sunshine exposure rather
than diet explained the difference in vitamin D status of white and
non-white girls" in the study, reported in the Archives of Disease in
Childhood.

"Vitamin D deficiency during childhood and adolescence," warn Dr. M.
Zulf Mughal and colleagues, "might impair the acquisition of peak bone
mass at the end of skeletal growth and maturation, thereby increasing
the risk of osteoporotic fracture later in life."

Mughal, from Saint Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in
Manchester, and colleagues measured vitamin D levels in 14 white and 37
non-white 14-16-year-old girls attending an inner city multi-ethnic
girls' school in the UK.

Thirty-seven girls (73 percent) were vitamin D deficient, and nine (17
percent) were severely deficient.

Average vitamin D levels were higher in white girls than in non-white
girls.

For the group as a whole, the vitamin D concentration correlated with
the estimated duration of daily sunlight exposure and percentage of
body surface area exposed, but not with estimated intake of vitamin D.

"This is in keeping with the fact that the main source of vitamin D is
that produced by the action of solar ultraviolet B radiation acting on
7-dehydrocholesterol in skin," the team explains. "Only small amounts
are obtained from dietary sources."

As they note, "Avoidance of exposure to sunshine for religious and
cultural beliefs that encourage wearing of concealing clothing and
restriction of outdoor activities has previously been reported as a
risk factor for vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabian adolescents."

In an editorial, Dr. N. J. Bishop, from the University of Sheffield,
UK, expresses concern that "failure to supply an essential nutrient
during a period of rapid growth and development is likely to result in
problems across the population as a whole."

He writes, "We need to take simple, practical measures to reduce the
burden of early bone disease and other later problems." These include
reminding women that breast milk lacks vitamin D and that totally
breastfed infants should be supplemented (irrespective of skin color)
until receiving a full mixed diet.

It remains to be determined, Bishop adds, how to meet the needs of
older children and adolescents from cultures that avoid sunlight.
"Perhaps more exercise outdoors would help deal with this problem."

SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2006.


http://dietary-supplements.info.nih....s/vitamind.asp

Vitamin D and osteoporosis:
It is estimated that over 25 million adults in the United States have,
or are at risk of developing, osteoporosis [32]. Osteoporosis is a
disease characterized by fragile bones, and it significantly increases
the risk of bone fractures. Osteoporosis is most often associated with
inadequate calcium intake. However, a deficiency of vitamin D also
contributes to osteoporosis by reducing calcium absorption [33]. While
rickets and osteomalacia are extreme examples of vitamin D deficiency,
osteopororsis is an example of a long-term effect of vitamin D
insufficiency [34]. Adequate storage levels of vitamin D help keep
bones strong and may help prevent osteoporosis in older adults, in
non-ambulatory individuals (those who have difficulty walking and
exercising), in post-menopausal women, and in individuals on chronic
steroid therapy [35].

Researchers know that normal bone is constantly being remodeled, a
process that describes the breakdown and rebuilding of bone. During
menopause, the balance between these two systems changes, resulting in
more bone being broken down or resorbed than rebuilt. Hormone therapy
(HT) with sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone may delay the
onset of osteoporosis. However, some medical groups and professional
societies such as the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, The North American Menopause Society, and The American
Society for Bone and Mineral Research recommend that postmenopausal
women consider using other agents to slow or stop bone-resorption
because of the potential adverse health effects of HT [36-38].

Vitamin D deficiency, which is often seen in post-menopausal women and
older Americans [4], has been associated with greater incidence of hip
fractures [39-41]. In a review of women with osteoporosis hospitalized
for hip fractures, 50 percent were found to have signs of vitamin D
deficiency [35]. Daily supplementation with 20 µg (800 IU) of vitamin
D may reduce the risk of osteoporotic fractures in elderly populations
with low blood levels of vitamin D [42]. The Decalyos II study examined
the effect of combined calcium and vitamin D supplementation in a group
of elderly women who were able to walk indoors with a cane or walker.
The women were studied for two years, and results suggested that such
supplementation could reduce the risk of hip fractures in this
population [43].

All women are encouraged to consult with a physician about their need
for vitamin D supplementation as part of an overall plan to prevent
and/or treat osteoporosis.

*********

TC

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sunshine heals cancer, and the FDA is powerless to stop it, regulate it or ban it Jan Drew Kids Health 21 May 2nd 06 03:08 PM
Grade for fruit and vegetable intake for girls: F minus Roman Bystrianyk Kids Health 0 April 27th 06 01:48 AM
The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C Ilena Rose Kids Health 34 March 24th 06 03:13 PM
A start in life: Girls on the Run Mike General 1 November 9th 04 01:45 AM
snotty 6 year old Deanna General 39 May 15th 04 12:45 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:31 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 ParentingBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.