One in 10, or 10.3 percent, of Filipino children 6 years to 12 years old from selected provinces and cities in the country is vitamin D deficient.
This is according to the 2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), the agency said in a news release.
Vitamin D, also called “sunshine vitamin,” is a micronutrient which helps increase mineral absorption like calcium that is necessary for bone health and development
The body can “make” vitamin D when exposed to direct sunlight that converts a chemical in the skin into an active form of the vitamin called calcitriol.
Lack of vitamin D is strongly associated with bone disorders and diseases, such as rickets, which affects bone development in children that may result in bone fragility and fracture in later years.
Vitamin D also protects against some forms of cancer and have recognized roles in preventing respiratory diseases.
Recognizing the importance of vitamin D, the DOST-FNRI assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among children 6 to 12 years old.
Vitamin D insufficiency
According to the 2018 ENNS, a significantly higher proportion of vitamin D insufficiency is observed in girls, 6 in 10 (57.6 percent) than among boys, 4 in 10 (43 percent) aged 6 to 12 years old.
A vitamin D concentration of 50 to less than 75 nanomoles (nmol) per liter (L) is considered insufficient (50- <75 nmol/L).
There are more children in urban areas (59 percent) who are insufficient in vitamin D compared to their rural counterparts (45.4 percent), the study also revealed.
The survey likewise reported that around 4 to 5 in 10 of Filipino children 6 years to12 years old across islands (National Capital Region [NCR]: 57.9 percent; Luzon: 45.8 percent; Visayas: 47.7 percent; and Mindanao: 51.2 percent) have insufficient levels of vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency
The 2018 ENNS also showed that among Filipino children 6 years to 12 years old, a significantly higher proportion, or 1 in 10 (11.9 percent) of girls are vitamin D deficient, compared to 8.6 percent of boys.
A vitamin D concentration of less than 50 nmol/L is considered deficient (<50 nmol/L).
Significantly, more children, around 18 percent living in urban areas, are deficient in vitamin D, highest prevalence of which was in the NCR at 30.1 percent, the study noted.
Vitamin D deficiency prevalence among Filipino children 6 years to 12 years old in Luzon is 6.6 percent, Visayas was 5.1 percent, and 6.9 percent in Mindanao.
The survey added that older children 11 years to 12 years old have a higher likelihood of having vitamin D deficiency than younger children.
Filipino girls are 1.5 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than boys, the study found.
The probability of having vitamin D deficiency are 5.4 times higher in children living in urban areas, the survey concluded.
Based on the Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes (PDRI) developed by DOST-FNRI, recommended intake for vitamin D is 5 micrograms for children 6 years to 12 years old for both males and females.
There have been many reports on high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among pediatric population from various countries worldwide, including the United States (Gordon et al. 2004), China (Foo et al., 2009), New Zealand (Cairncross et al., 2017), and Africa (Mogire et al., 2021).
Because of its importance in body functions and nutrition, having enough vitamin D in children is essential.
The most practical and free source of vitamin D is from exposure to the sun. This is already sufficient to generate our daily vitamin D requirement.
The recommendations of the Pinggang Pinoy by the DOST-FNRI also provides a guide to good nutrition for children.
Pinggang Pinoy serve as a quick and easy guide for determining how much to eat per meal time. It includes “Grow” foods such as fish and eggs and consumption of milk, which are all good sources of vitamin D.