Vitamin D

Dear Charlotte

Elder people beyond age 65 years and people wearing clothes covering the entire body or dark-skinned people risk developing vitamin D deficiency, which may result in muscle pain and decreased muscle function increasing the risk to fall and fractures.

Vitamin D is mainly absorbed from the sunlight. The Danish National Board of Health therefore recommends that babies are offered vitamin D on a daily basis - small babies should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Also elder children with dark skin (or wearing long sleeves, long trousers, headscarf etc) should have a daily vitamin D supplement all year round. Children who are often covered and not exposed to the sunlight during summer are often recommended to continue having a vitamin D supplement throughout the entire childhood and probably for the rest of their lives.

If you live a healthy life like most people in Denmark do, if your daughter wears ordinary summer clothes, with bare arms and legs etc. during summer and is automatically exposed to the sunlight, there is under normal circumstances no need to offer her a vitamin D supplement.

I wish you and your daughter the best of luck:o)

Kind regards,

Helen Hansen