Sun Screen and Rickets

[Chaffinch]

Just seen on South Today and also Inside Out, that rickets is making a come back, and is preverlant here in the South of England (where we get the most sun light). The Dr's and experts are saying it is now a lifestyle disease. Mum's are smothering their children in factor 50 sun screen, because thery are scared of skin cancer in later life. Anything above a factor 8 prevents the production of vitamin D in the body so that calcium can be obsorbed.

They also highlighted that children do not go out to play, or do as much sport in schools.
They said that if it is this bad in the South it can only be worse the further North you go. Many children are haveing to have opperations to correct the bones in their legs.

Comments please.

[NazNomad]

"You can play on your X-Box all day IF you drink a pint of Cod Liver Oil" ... should get kids back into the sunshine. ;-)

[Huderon]

You don't need much time in the sun to produce all the vitamin D you need - for kids it's around 30 minutes every day a week during the summer months, and even then you only need the face and arms exposed.

I can understand parents smothering their children with factor 50 if they have really sensitive skin, but really I do think the parents overdo the worrying about their children these days.

[Chaffinch]

Agree Huderon, playing outside or going for a walk is NOT like lying on a beach for hours. The programmes tonigh were shocking, to see a 11 year old girl needing two operations on her hips, and all because she spent most of her life indoors!

[Sqad]

Chaff...yes I am afraid so.....Orthopaedic surgeons, particularly in the South of England, have seen the rise of the "old" disease of Vit D deficiency Rickets.

Why?...children today do not go "out to play" like they did a generation ago, they just sit in the house, getting fatter, developing Type 2 diabetes and now...for God´s sake Rickets. Playing fields have been sold off. sport has been reduced in the State Schools, but not in the Public Schools and the "outside life" for the kids is becoming a thing of the past.

That`s it.......my thoughts.

[LazyGun]

I would echo commentary here. Need to reverse societal trends towards less activity and more sitting around inside and get more people outside for longer :)

For an advanced society to have incidence of rickets is a pretty poor indictment of these lifestyle choices. Given this lack of exposure to sunlight by our society, Vitamin D supplements are just about the only supplements that I think might actually be justified across the board :)

[ummmm]

My kids go out...and shock horror...without sunblock.

[woofgang]

its not prevalent but it does happen...some children are affected not many...Yes we need to address it but lets keep it on proportion.

[Hopkirk]

Be careful before you jump to conclusions from simple statistics.

I believe much of the apparent rise in rickets is among ethnic groups who cover up for religious reasons.

[Chaffinch]

Hopkirk, no its not "ethnic children" not uless you count white children from the Isle of Wight!!

Southampton Hospital is curnetly leading the research, and Hampshire and IOW is mainly white with few ethnic minoritys compared to some parts of the UK, we also have the highest sunlight levels, and a high level of middle classes. The reason is believed to be as Sqod says is lifstyle, kids just don't play out, do enough sport and are protected with sun screen, and are given lifts to school etc.