Low vitamin D status: on the increase?

Maximising bone strength in childhood and adolescence is critical for future bone health and reduction in osteoporosis. Vitamin D plays a key role in bone development, bone mineral density and is essential to maximise the absorption of calcium from the gut. In the UK it has been estimated that exposure to sunlight is sufficient to maintain adequate vitamin D status, hence no dietary reference value is set for the majority of the population. However, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and rickets is increasing and moderate-to-mild vitamin D deficiency has been demonstrated to produce ower bone mass in children and adolescents, placing them at risk of osteoporosis in later life. This paper argues that the UK should set dietary reference values for vitamin D for the whole of the population, in line with other Western countries, and give greater emphasis to dietary sources of vitamin D, including through fortification of foods.