'Many Iranians suffer from vitamin D deficiency'

Iranian health officials claim some 40 to 80 percent of the country's population suffers from vitamin D deficiency, placing them at an increased risk of different health problems.

Vitamin D deficiency, commonly reported in many countries across the globe, is associated with weak bones, osteoporosis, higher vulnerability to infections, diabetes and some cancers.

"Different levels of vitamin D deficiency can be detected in 60 to 70 percent of Iranian women and 40 to 50 percent of Iranian men," said head of the Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences Fereydoon Azizi.

Low physical activity, malnutrition and spending insufficient time outdoors are the main factors contributing to vitamin D deficiency and subsequently osteoporosis in Iran.

Osteoporosis and its complications particularly fractures are responsible for the loss of 36,000 years of life in Iran; preventing the condition can therefore reduce the heavy burden imposed on society by the disease, Azizi said.

The head of the Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences added that the fortification of milk with vitamin D plays a critical role in improving overall vitamin D levels in the country, stressing that food products account for one-third of the body's need for this vitamin.

Azizi urged authorities to provide school children with monthly vitamin D supplements, stressing that drinking one glass of fortified milk per day is not enough to overcome the needs of most children.