Vitamin Lacking in 1 of 10 Toddlers

Monday, February 20th 2006

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One in every 10 Auckland infants is growing up with Third World-type vitamin deficiencies.

A four-year study led by paediatrician Cameron Grant, of the Starship children's hospital, has found that 12% of Auckland toddlers aged from six months to two years do not have enough vitamin A, a deficiency that causes blindness in more than 250,000 children in developing countries each year.

Ten per cent of the Auckland infants - despite living in a country with bountiful sun and outdoor space - do not get enough vitamin D, a substance the body makes when it is exposed to sunlight. The study also found a quarter of Auckland infants have too little iron in their blood.

The study shows that many New Zealanders either do not know what is good for them and their children to eat, or cannot afford to buy the foods they need.

'We suspect that if we are finding these micronutrient deficiencies in a proportion of children, it implies that there are probably other micronutrients that are also deficient, and we suspect they may be having adverse effects on children's health,' said Dr Grant.

Vitamin A deficiency was not common in developed countries, but it was a problem in the developing world and because some of New Zealand's infectious diseases epidemiology mirrored that, the doctors decided to study vitamins also.

Dr Grant also leads a study on Auckland's rate of childhood pneumonia, which is five to 10 times higher than in the United States. The high rate of such diseases was due partly to increasingly overcrowded houses in the past 10 to 15 years, and variable access to family doctors, he said. But it now seemed that illness also stemmed partly from poor diet.

Vitamin A, which is made in the body mainly from red fruits and vegetables such as peaches and carrots, is crucial for seeing at night. It also helps to protect the body against infectious diseases.

"If a child is admitted to hospital with measles, we give them a treatment of vitamin A," he said.

Humans need only a tiny amount of iron in the diet, around a hundredth of a gram a day. Yet it is essential to make the haemoglobin molecules in blood that carry oxygen around the body and give people strength and energy.

Going without, 10 percent of Auckland infants have vitamin deficiencies. 12 percent of those aged 6 months to two years do not have enough Vitamin A. 10 percent do not get enough Vitamin D. 25 percent do not have enough iron in their blood.

Dr Grant said the 24 per cent rate of iron deficiency in his study was similar to studies in the US 30 years ago where deficiency is now about 10 per cent with iron supplements common in food and for pregnant women and babies.

Here only infant formula was fortified.

"In the US, you can pick up some cereals with a magnet," Dr Grant said.

Finally, vitamin D, the "sun-light vitamin", helps the body to absorb calcium and other minerals to build bones. Children who get too little of it develop rickets, with soft bones, bow legs, a curved spine and poor teeth.

"We have babies admitted to hospital with vitamin D deficiency which is so severe that they have rickets, and their calcium levels in the blood are so low that they have convulsions," Dr Grant said.

This is partly a cultural problem and is most prevalent in groups that keep their children, particularly girls, indoors. Out of 18 vitamin D-deficient Auckland infants studied in 1998, about 12 were Indian and the others included a Moroccan, and Ethiopian and an Indonesian, as well as a Tongan and a Maori.

Dr Grant said the best way to make sure infants got the vitamins they needed was to keep fully breastfeeding a baby for at least four to six months and then gradually supplement breast milk with iron-fortified infant formulas rather than cow's milk.

His study is based on a random sample of 416 infants in the Auckland region. Blood tests were taken between 1999 and 2002.

Source New Zealand Herald, 10 January 2005, by Simon Collins

Footnote from Ideal Health

The following products are all useful for Childrens Health :

Childrens Echinature
Every Day Please
Ethical Bone Builder Vitamin D Powder
Junior Immunofort
Kindervital For Children
Kangavites Bouncing Berry
Liquid Calcium
Inner Health Plus for Kids
Immune Booster for Kids
Vitamin and Mineral Boost Powder
Vitamin D3
Yummi Bears Multi-Vitamin & Mineral
Zinc Fix Orange

Related health information can be found here:

Anaemia
Antibiotic Use
Calcium to build bones
Colostrum, a universal healer with immune boosting properties
Magnesium
Problems with memory or learning? Are you deficient in fatty acids vital for brain & eye function?
Recommended Calcium Intake for New Zealanders
Spirulina - nature's richest whole food source
The Good Health Diet
Vitamin C is essential for fighting infections, wound healing and coping with stress

Related articles can be found here:

Age at First Exposure to Cereal Linked to Risk of Diabetes

Fish oils for Dyslexia & ADHD

Infants Treated With Antibiotics at Increased Risk for Atopy and Asthma

Iron Supplementation Beneficial in Healthy, Full-Term Infants

Iron Supplementation May Help Children With ADHD

Probiotics Well Tolerated, Safe in Infant Formula

Ritalin Slows Growth In Children: Study

Size surprise in milk study

Top Marks to Water-only School

If you need help or advice, you are welcome to email our naturopathic team with your health question.

Disclaimer: The health information presented here has been written for the New Zealand health consumer. It is of a general nature and is only intended to provide a summary of the subjects covered. The information is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide medical advice to you. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility or liability is accepted, and no person should act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided. All health ailments should be treated by a qualified health professional.

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