Vitamin D may be the vitamin superstar of the year as more data continues to emerge about the important role this vitamin plays in health and disease – but the sad reality is most Americans don’t get enough of it. While a severe deficiency of vitamin D could lead to the bone disease rickets in children and muscle weakness in adults, a less severe deficiency can be present without obvious symptoms. If preliminary studies hold true, this type of low level vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of a variety of chronic diseases including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, and even heart disease. Now the United States Dermatology Academy warns that some American may be at higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency and need to get more of this important vitamin.

Who Could Be at Higher Risk of a Vitamin D Deficiency?

One group at particularly high risk of a vitamin D deficiency is the elderly. Not only do they get less direct sunlight, but they don’t process the vitamin D they receive from the sun as well as younger people. Vitamin D can be made from a vitamin D precursor present on the skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. In the elderly, the skin is more atrophied which makes this conversion difficult. It’s not uncommon to see elderly patients in nursing homes with severe muscle weakness and bone fractures as a result of a vitamin D deficiency.

Another group of people at higher risk of deficiency of vitamin D are people with darker skin. Some studies have shown that darker skinned individuals need up to six times the amount of sunlight as fair skinned people to get adequate quantities of vitamin D. Vitamin D levels tend to be particularly low in the African-American population. Some researchers believe this could partially explain their increased risk of certain diseases.

Obese and overweight people may also be at higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency. It appears that vitamin D is deposited in fat cells which ties it up so it’s unable to exert its positive effects on the body. Interestingly, a low vitamin D level is also thought to increase the risk of obesity developing in the first place.

What Should You Do If You’re at Risk of a Vitamin D Deficiency?

The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends that adults under the age of 71 get 400 IU of vitamin D each day and those over the age of 71 receive 600 IU of vitamin D per day. If you fall into one of these high risk categories, talk to your doctor about having your blood levels of vitamin D checked and the possibility of taking a vitamin D supplement