Half of Black Teens May Be Vitamin D Deficient

Many teens today, especially black teens, aren't getting enough of vitamin D. Blacks take in less of the sun's rays than whites, causing less vitamin D production. The report was published in the March 3 issue of Pediatrics. Researchers collected data on 2,955 youths, 12 to 19 years old, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. Overall, 14 percent of adolescents in the study were vitamin D deficient. However, black teens were 20 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than white teens. Vitamin D deficiency among girls was more than double that of boys. In addition, twice as many obese teens were vitamin D deficient as normal-weight teens. Researcher also noted that more recent data puts the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among teens at 40 percent to 50 percent.