DadTalk

Rickets comeback due to 'lack of sunshine exposure'

"This is a problem of lifestyle in children across the social classes," Southampton orthopaedic surgeon Prof Nicholas Clarke reflects on the rise in cases of rickets.

For years rickets was seen as a problem of poverty.

"This is a problem of lifestyle in children across the social classes," Southampton orthopaedic surgeon Prof Nicholas Clarke reflects on the rise in cases of rickets.

For years rickets was seen as a problem of poverty.

Children growing up in Victorian slums suffered from bone deformities, such as bowed legs and curvature of the spine.

It was discovered to be caused by a lack of vitamin D - manufactured when the skin is exposed to sunlight.

The condition was thought to have been consigned to history in the 1940s - when it was added to everyday foods such as margarine and cereal.

However rickets is making a comeback. More than 20% of children tested for bone problems at Southampton General Hospital have showed signs of the crippling disease.

With modern lifestyles meaning children are taken to school in cars and spend more leisure time indoors, they are not going outside as often as previous generations.

Doctors say 20-30 minutes of direct sunshine a day, five days a week, is necessary to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D. Any sun cream over factor eight blocks the ultra violet light the body needs to create vitamin D.

Read more about this story at the BBC website.