Kids Exposure to Sunlight

-- Post is revised on 1st March, 2011. Thanks to Dr. Rahmattullah Galsulkar for his contribution to enrich this post --

Parents shall ensure that their kids go out and play regularly, highlighting that children need to be exposed to sunlight at least for an hour every day to keep them naturally healthy.

Parents need to be sensitive to the fact that regular exposure to sun light and playing out in the open every day needs to be factored in as part of a healthy lifestyle.

One should know that Vitamin D is produced by our skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity.

Deprivation of sunlight can lead to low levels of Vitamin D and this can be the cause for the condition of brittle bones, a common and potential case among children who tend to stay indoors all the time. The healing rays of natural sunlight that generate Vitamin D in our skin cannot penetrate glass, so Vitamin D is not even generated when sitting in car or at home.

It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D from our diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate Vitamin D in our body.

People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 - 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of Vitamin D.

Sufficient levels of Vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in our intestines. Without sufficient Vitamin D, our body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.

Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight. It takes months of Vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.

Vitamin D is “activated” in our body by our kidneys and liver before it can be used. Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair our body’s ability to activate circulating Vitamin D.

Note that kids who are bought up indoors get addicted to computers and or indoor games, which are not good signs of healthy lifestyle. Therefore parents should take the lead in encouraging kids to be more dynamic in outdoor activities.

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