Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Brazilian adolescents

Low vitamin D concentrations among indigenous Argentinean children living at high altitudes

“…The reported median daily intake of sweet beverages was 2 glasses/d (quartile I: 2 to quartile III: 3), the median intake of fruits and vegetables 4 servings/d (2)(3)(4), and the hours of TV watched 2 h/d (1)(2)(3). Approximately 30% of the children watched TV more than 2 h/d.…”

Vitamin D receptor gene FokI polymorphisms influence bone mass in adolescent football (soccer) players

“…Although serum 25 (OH) D was not measured in the present study, vitamin D status was presumably marginal, based on the few studies evaluating vitamin D status in Brazilian adolescents reporting that insuYciency [serum 25 (OH) D < 75 nmol/L] is commonly observed (Peters et al 2009;Bezerra et al 2008). However, since calcium retention rate was adequate, our results are consistent with recent studies showing that calcium absorption and retention are not directly related to vitamin D status in children and adolescents (Weaver et al 2008;Abrams et al 2009).…”

“…In our study, the adolescent boys were all of mixed white and black ancestry, at medium or advanced stages of puberty (Tanner stage III or higher), regularly practicing an intense physical sport activity (soccer), and possibly on marginal calcium diets. Although information on dietary habits of the adolescents studied could not be obtained, previous studies in Brazil indicate that adolescents habitually consume between 500 and 800 mg Ca/day (Peters et al 2009;Silva et al 2007;Lerner et al 2000), that represents 40-60% of the internationally recommended calcium intake for adolescents (IOM 1997). In spite of their possibly low calcium diets, it is interesting to note that independent of FokI genotype, the adolescents studied had, on average, adequate TBMD at baseline.…”

Vitamin D and adolescents: what do we know?

“…However, in studies from Saudi Arabia [43], Iran [55], Australia [56], India [57], Brazil [58], and Lebanon [44], 30-50% of children and adults were found to have levels less than 20 ng/ml. In part, the high frequency is due to a dress code that covers the majority of the skin.…”