[Meet a rising star] How to scientifically supplement vitamin D for children?

Since 2017, the China Science Writers Association has continued to carry out the "Science Popularization and Science Fiction Youth Star Program" project, selecting and cultivating young talents aged 18-45 who are interested in science popularization and science fiction creation from the whole society. In the five years since the launch of the activity, nearly 5,000 trainees have been trained, 1,245 science popularization and science fiction works have been displayed, and hundreds of authors have been awarded the title of "Science Popularization and Science Fiction Youth Star". In 2021, 30 outstanding works were selected from nearly 400 works, including 19 science popularization works and 11 science fiction works. With the active recommendation of the China Science Writers Association, some works have been published in media such as "Science Story Club", "China Youth Daily", and "Science Popularization Times", and the China Science Writers Association WeChat official account has forwarded them through the "Meeting New Stars" column for readers.

What is the scientific way to supplement vitamin D for children?

Ding Yuan (Deputy Chief Physician, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University)

"Doctor! My child was recently diagnosed with low bone density. Does he need calcium or vitamin D supplements?"

"Doctor! Our child drinks milk every day, so he shouldn't need vitamin D supplements!"

As a pediatrician, I am often asked these questions by parents. Many parents give their children vitamin D supplements just to follow the trend: "Doctor! Everyone else is giving their babies vitamin D supplements, so I should give my baby some too!"

In fact, many parents are not clear about whether their children’s health conditions require vitamin D supplementation, how much is appropriate, and they don’t know that blindly following the trend may backfire!

Vitamin D is a good helper to maintain the balance of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in the human body, promote calcium absorption and bone development. It is also involved in the growth of various cells and the establishment of the body's immune function. Moreover, studies have found that the occurrence of malignant tumors may also be related to the lack of vitamin D in the body.

Children are prone to vitamin D deficiency

90% of the vitamin D our body needs is produced by sunlight on the skin, while the diet only provides 10%. Therefore, people who don't like to exercise, stay at home and don't like to sunbathe, people who always apply sunscreen or wear sunscreen when going out, and people with an unbalanced diet are prone to vitamin D deficiency.

Children are also prone to vitamin D deficiency due to their rapid growth and development and lack of outdoor activities. Doctors from the Physical Examination Department of the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University have analyzed more than 10,000 children who came for physical examinations and found that more than half of the children were vitamin D deficient or insufficient, and the older the children, the higher the proportion of vitamin D deficiency.

Children should pay attention to regular physical examinations

Children who are deficient in vitamin D will have some symptoms, such as night terrors, crying easily, sweating, and even shaking their heads frequently, rubbing their pillows and causing baldness on the pillows, etc. In severe cases, there will be more obvious bone changes, including "square head", "pigeon chest", "bracelets", "anklets", "X" or "O" shaped legs, etc. If these conditions occur, you need to go to the hospital for help. However, the absence of these symptoms does not mean that the child has enough vitamin D, so parents must pay attention to regular physical examinations.

Currently, vitamin D levels are checked by drawing venous blood for testing. The general standards are: vitamin D sufficiency: 20-100 ng/mL (50-250 nmol/L), vitamin D deficiency: 12-20 ng/mL (30-50 nmol/L), vitamin D deficiency: