Rickets makes a comeback among computer generation

The growth of the computer generation and changing lifestyles among children are leading to a Vitamin D deficiency and a rise in cases of rickets, medical experts have warned.
04-02-2010

They said youngsters were spending more time indoors on their computers rather than previous generations who spent time playing outside with their friends.
The two medical experts have called for Vitamin D to be added to milk and other food products.
They said modern diets often lack Vitamin D and this could be a big reason - along with changing lifestyles - for the increasing health problems, in particular rickets in children.
The main source of Vitamin D is sunlight, through skin exposure. But it is also present in a small number of foods, such as oily fish or cod liver oil.
Writing a clinical review in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, Professor Simon Pearce and Dr Tim Cheetham, of Newcastle University, call for a change in public health policy.
Prof Pearce, a professor of endocrinology, said: ''Kids tend to stay indoors more these days and play on their computers instead of enjoying the fresh air.
''This means their Vitamin D levels are worse than in previous years.
''A change in public health policy is required. Health professionals have been slow to deal with this problem, even though we have known about it for a while.

With thanks to The Daily Telegraph To read the full article go to: http://tinyurl.com/yds3l2q

Nigel Denby comments: We have seen increasing incidence of rickets over the last couple of years in a number of the London boroughs we work in. Whilst Vitamin D is avaialable in a number of foods like oily fish, eggs and margarine it is difficult to achieve daily requirements without regular exposure to sunlight so the fortification of more foods with Vitamin D may be something we have to consider.