New Research May Boost Grain-Based Food Production

New research revealing children in the US have vitamin D levels some experts consider to be too low, may help advocation of increased fortification of food products, with a focus on grain-based foods.
The study, ‘Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels among US children aged 1 to 11 years: Do children need more vitamin D?, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, was written by a team led by Jonathan M. Mansbach of the Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Authors of the study concluded many children in the US need more vitamin D and said: “These data are a call to action to determine in children the optimal level of 25 (OH) D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), the health effects of vitamin D in children and the different approaches that one might use to reach a healthy level.”
“These data are a call to action to determine in children the optimal level of 25 (OH) D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), the health effects of vitamin D in children and the different approaches that one might use to reach a healthy level,”
A number of recent single center studies have indicated that vitamin D levels are too low, but Dr. Mansbach said no nationally representative study of children ages 1 to 11 had been done.
On the basis of this study, the team said “millions of children may have suboptimal levels of vitamin D, especially non-Hispanic black and Mexican American children.”
Data were obtained from the 2001-04 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In the study, children were placed in three groups with serum levels below 25 nmol/l (nanomoles per liter), less than 50 and less than 75.
The mean serum level was 70 nmol/l. The prevalence of vitamin D serum levels beneath 25 nmol/l was 0.7%; beneath 25 nmol, 15%; and beneath 75, 65%. Among non-Hispanic black children, vitamin D deficiency (if measured as less than 75 nmol/l) was 89%; Mexican American children, 77%; and non-Hispanic white children, 54%.
More than half the paper was devoted to discussion of the findings, with considerable analysis of recent studies about the potential consequences of vitamin D deficiency. Also included was discussion about the state of supplementation with vitamin D.
“These data highlight that millions of children in the US have vitamin D levels some experts consider too low and that non-Hispanic black and Mexican American children have the lowest levels,” Dr. Mansbach said.
“Practitioners caring for children should become aware of the emerging data bout the diverse health effects of vitamin D and understand that this group of children may require more vitamin D than they are currently making from sunlight or consuming in their diet (including supplements).”