Vitamin D3 boost helps treat child malnutrition

A clinical trial conducted in Pakistan’s Punjab province found that vitamin D3 supplements added to regular treatment for malnutrition led to significant improvements in a group of 185 malnourished children aged 2‒58 months. The eight-week treatment led to gains in weight for height, as well as improvements in motor skills and learning abilities.

Vitamin D3 boost helps treat child malnutrition. Image credit: Adrian Wold/Wikipedia (CC BY 2.5)

A second group of 92 malnourished children, also under standard treatment but placed on placebos instead of vitamin D3 supplements, showed far less improvement than the first group

“The results of adding high-dose vitamin D3 to the regular treatment for malnutrition are a first, and not previously studied,” says Aida Girma-Melaku, UNICEF representative in Pakistan. She says that the standard treatment given to malnourished children in different countries is a high-energy food paste which has only modest amounts of vital micronutrients such as vitamin D3.

Cholecalciferol, called the ‘sunshine vitamin’ because it is naturally made by the skin on exposure to ultraviolet rays in sunlight, is also found in animal-origin foods like cheese, fish and eggs. It plays a key role in the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, which are essential for the building of bones and teeth.

Adrian Martineau, professor at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and an author of the study, says the results carry lessons for developing countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and other regions which are home to an estimated 20 million malnourished children. (SciDev.Net)

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