Ozone depletion linked to rickets

Breast-fed infants need a Vitamin D supplement to ward off rickets because exposure to the sun is no longer a safe way to provide the needed nutrient, says the American Academy of Paediatrics.

Rickets is rarely fatal but can soften bones and result in bowing of the legs and impeded growth, as well as causing respiratory and heart problems.

The policy statement, published in this month's issue of the academy's journal Paediatrics, says the incidence of rickets in the US has crept up in recent years.

Breast milk contains many valuable nutrients but not enough Vitamin D to meet the daily requirement. Exposure to the sun's rays normally generates Vitamin D in the skin, but applying sun block stops that process.

"The normal source of Vitamin D for a baby is sunshine," said Dr Lawrence Gartner, a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago and one of the authors of the policy statement.

"The problem is we can no longer recommend that babies be put out in the sun because of the risk of skin cancer, which has increased significantly in the past several years, probably because of the diminishing ozone layer."

Baby formula contains Vitamin D but breast-fed babies probably need a liquid supplement.

- REUTERS