According to a report featured by the BBC, the chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, is to raise awareness about concerns that young children and some adults at risk of deficiency are not getting enough vitamin D.

The Department of Health (DH) recommends that vitamin D supplements are required for all people at risk of a deficiency, including all pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five years old, people aged over 65, and people at risk of not getting enough exposure to sunlight (see link below for guidance).

Recent research has found that nearly three quarters of parents and more than half of health professionals were unaware of these recommendations. Furthermore there has been a reported increase in childhood rickets over the past 15 years.

Health professionals will be contacted in the near future on the need to prescribe and recommend vitamin D supplements to at-risk groups.

The DH has also asked the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition to review the issue of current dietary recommendations on vitamin D.