Free vitamins for all under-fives advised by chief medical officer

Dame Sally Davies says rise in rickets points to need for vitamin handouts to curb illnesses linked to vitamin D deficiencyAll under-fives may be offered free vitamins on the NHS in an effort to curb the rising tide of illness, such as rickets, linked to them getting too little vitamin D.Dame Sally Davies, the government's chief medical officer, wants ministers to consider extending the offer from low-income families to all children under the age of five.She has asked the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to investigate whether giving all children in that age group vitamins A, C and D, in the form of drops or tablets, would be cost effective.Davies said the return of rickets, and the implication of vitamin D in other ill-health, meant that offering every family with under-fives free vitamins was necessary.She pointed to a scheme in Birmingham in which universal access to vitamins is credited with halving the number of cases of rickets in the city.As many as 40% of young children do not get enough vitamin D, said Davies, as she launched her annual report into children's health and the state of NHS physical and mental health services for children.The number of under-18s who have been admitted to hospital in England for rickets soared from 190 in 2002-03 to 748 in 2011-12, NHS figures show.Hilary Cass, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, welcomed Davies' initiative but cautioned that take-up of free vitamins under the Healthy Sta...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Nutrition The Guardian Children News Health Society The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) UK news NHS Public finance Poverty Science Source Type: news