Vitamin D deficiency should not be a problem in sunny Hong Kong, but at least 60 per cent of residents lack the correct levels of the essential nutrient, a doctor has warned.
Annie Kung Wai-chee, the Sir David Todd Professor in Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said it was hard to believe that people from a city in the subtropics could suffer from a deficiency of the vitamin.
Vitamin D strengthens muscles and bones, regulates the function of different organs and helps fend off osteoporosis and bone fractures, Dr Kung said.
The nutrient was absorbed primarily through exposure to sunlight rather than diet.
'If you look at the studies on vitamin D in different populations in the Far East and even in sunny spaces, the problem of vitamin D insufficiency exists,' she said.
New data suggested that vitamin D may even boost the immune system and decrease the risk of infectious diseases and illnesses, including certain cancers, multiple sclerosis and diabetes, she added.
Dr Kung, a specialist in endocrinology and metabolism, tested the blood of more than 382 'healthy, community-dwelling southern Chinese' aged above 50 from 2003 to 2006. She found that 62.8 per cent were deficient in vitamin D.