Health crisis as Australians now avoid sun so much that they are lacking vitamin D

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Health crisis as Australians now avoid sun so much that they are lacking vitamin D

TOM CURTIS IN PERTH

IT IS one of the sunniest countries in the world. But Australia may have gone too far with its "sun safe" messages - causing a major vitamin D deficiency among the population.

Experts said as many as 70 per cent of Australians may have insufficient levels of vitamin D, which is produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight.


They believe the cause could be too much sun-avoidance in a bid to ward off skin cancer, of which Australia has the highest rate in the world.

As a result people are instead risking bone disease, fractures, diabetes and cancers, all of which can be affected by vitamin D levels, after heading warnings such as the most famous sun safe campaign, "Slip Slop Slap" - slip on a T-shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat.

Ken Sikaris, a Melbourne pathologist, said the number of vitamin D deficiencies he sees is "mind-boggling" and that people had become too cautious about sunlight.

He said the Slip Slop Slap message "is a pendulum and it's gone a bit too far".

"There's a balance ... you need sunlight but don't go out in the middle of the day for an hour when the UV [ultra-violet light] is most harmful," he said.

Vitamin D is converted from cholesterol in the blood by sunlight and helps increase calcium absorption in the intestine, which builds stronger bones.

Australians get about 90 per cent of their intake from sunlight production, which is hindered by wearing sunscreen.

Professor Terry Diamond, a Sydney endocrinologist, said judging by current guidelines 20-30 per cent of the population had insufficient levels of vitamin D.

But he said new evidence was emerging that the correct level for optimum bone health was up to 40 per cent higher than the guidelines. "That would mean 60 to 70 per cent of the population have deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D," he said.

In the last six years, average daily presentations to Australian hospitals with broken bones due to osteoporosis - brittle bone disease, which can be caused by lack of calcium - have risen from 177 to 262.

That alone is costing the medical system about £800 million a year.

Peter Ebeling, head of Osteoporosis Australia, said the situation had become "very serious".

"I think we need to do everything we can to prevent the number of broken bones that are occurring," he said.

"If people think about getting out into the sun for a little time when it's safe during the summer months, that would be good. If they're not able to do that I think vitamin D supplements are very important."

He added recent research had linked vitamin D deficiencies to colon, breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

"I think a lot of us have been worried about it for a long time but have just realised how widespread it is over the last five to ten years," he said. "Like most people, we wouldn't have thought it would be very widespread in Australia, but it seems that it is."

DEADLY DOWNSIDE OF SUN-BLESSED COUNTRY

AUSTRALIA has the highest average solar radiation of any continent, making it the ideal place for solar energy projects and in theory an excellent place for everyone to get enough vitamin D.

But its population has for years been bombarded with public health messages about safety in the sun, in an effort to reduce its extremely high rates of skin cancer.

All primary school children tend to wear hats when out of doors and people who work outside can claim sunscreen and sunglasses against tax.

The latest campaign has the motto: "You don't have to be at the beach to get burned".

The old "Slip Slop Slap" campaign has been augmented with Seek (shade) and Slide (on some sunglasses).

Only last month, the country's Cancer Council launched a campaign for safer working in the sun, saying it could be "deadly" for outdoor employees.

Despite the sun safe message, Australia is still the skin cancer capital of the world, with more than 9,500 cases of melanoma diagnosed every year and 1,600 deaths.

However, bone and skin organisations, along with the country's Cancer Council, released a white paper this year recommending "a few minutes" in the sun on a summer day outside midday, when UV levels peak.

Craig Sinclair, a spokesman for the Cancer Council, said: "We're not going to recommend sun protection for people when they don't need it."

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