News - Sunshine 'Keeps the Elderly Fit and Healthy' - Healthy Direct (UK):
"Sunshine 'Keeps the Elderly Fit and Healthy'
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Elderly individuals in the UK should use this week's good weather to top up their vitamin D supplies, if new research is to be believed.
Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine have claimed that older adults who do not get enough vitamin D are at risk of poor physical performance and even disability.
A worrying 25 per cent of those aged 60 or older have low vitamin D levels, the researchers claim. While a subtly altered diet can address this problem to some extent, exposure to sunlight is seen as the only real way to tackle the deficiency.
'With a growing older population, we need to identify better ways to reduce the risk of disability,' said lead author Dr Denise Houston. 'Our study showed a significant relationship between low vitamin D levels in older adults and poorer physical performance.'
Vitamin D is produced naturally when human skin is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays but, as a result of modern lifestyles, very few people are actually able to enjoy this luxury. Many have also been put off by warnings about the risks of skin cancer - understandable given the rising prominence of this condition in recent years."
"Sunshine 'Keeps the Elderly Fit and Healthy'
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Elderly individuals in the UK should use this week's good weather to top up their vitamin D supplies, if new research is to be believed.
Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine have claimed that older adults who do not get enough vitamin D are at risk of poor physical performance and even disability.
A worrying 25 per cent of those aged 60 or older have low vitamin D levels, the researchers claim. While a subtly altered diet can address this problem to some extent, exposure to sunlight is seen as the only real way to tackle the deficiency.
'With a growing older population, we need to identify better ways to reduce the risk of disability,' said lead author Dr Denise Houston. 'Our study showed a significant relationship between low vitamin D levels in older adults and poorer physical performance.'
Vitamin D is produced naturally when human skin is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays but, as a result of modern lifestyles, very few people are actually able to enjoy this luxury. Many have also been put off by warnings about the risks of skin cancer - understandable given the rising prominence of this condition in recent years."
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