Question 2
The results of this study revealed a decreasing trend in the consumption of vitamin D intake in the diet over the past 25 years. What do you think could be contributing to this decrease?
posted by Brooke S @ 2:49 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
I think that one major factor is that not many people cook anymore. In the last 25 years we have moved to a fast pace world full of microwave dinner and drive thru windows. It is hard enough to get adequate vitamin D from food especially with todays typical american diet.
I agree with Stephanie that cooking may ve a factor, but not just because of drive throughs but also because after the children are out of the household, many older people don't cook as much because it is harder to cook for one or two. The American diet is high fat, high sodium, high sugar, and usually these foods don't include vitamin D. Not to mention that this vitamin is never really discussed in the media outside of sun exposure. Many people are not aware that Vitamin D can be found in food at all!
I agree with what Stephanie and Michela said. The typical American lifestyle tends to leave out foods containing vitamin D. I don't think people think too much about their vitamin D consumption and I don't think people know what foods contain vitamin D. Most foods that do contain vitamin D are not commonly consumed. I think we are beginning to see an upward swing in vitamin D consumption because it is slowly starting to come out in the media that most Americans are not getting enough.
I think that it is a lifestyle factor that alters intake. The popularity and availabilty of supplements has grown, but people are cooking less, eating less healthy and wholesome foods, and spending less time outdoors. I don't believe that supplementation would be able to make up for these issues.
I agree with Michela and Stephanie. The convience diet of most paired with the diet of the typical American does not generally contain high levels of nutrients thus an individuals overall intake, including vitamin D, would be diminished.
My first initial thought would be the increased consumption of fast/processed foods. Also, within the last 25 years, more individuals have entered the work force (women/minorities). With more individuals working, this creates less time to prepare good nutritious meals.
It seems to be the consensus that we all agree the changing American lifestyle has altered nutrition intake. However, can the Minneapolis-St. Paul area be generalized to the entire population? Are their dietary habits and food availability consistent with all regions in the US?
As the years pass, more people tend to divert from well-balanced diets. Since vitamin D is present in certain fish and dairy products, individuals might be consuming less of these items due to fast paced lives and a tendency to eat fast food. I wonder if a deficiency could also be related to decreased time spent outside. Many children these days tend to stay inside playing video games and adults are working indoors.
Amanda-
I like your point about needing to see the food availability within this area. It would be beneficial to see other studies that have focused on vitamin D defic. throughout different parts of the US and possibly world.
Amanda, you bring up a good point about this population just giving us a snapshot. I think all of us agree that lifestyle and dietary habits have changed but it would be interesting to see vit d intake in other areas.
I am from Minneapolis-St Paul actually, and I don't know that I have food consumption there to be significantly different than other places in the midwest, although it could be different than the coasts. I will say fishing is popular there!
I wonder if the decline is related to decreased egg consumption. It seems like eggs became an 'unhealthy' food several decades ago when low-fat diets were found to be related to heart health and it's only recently that eggs have 'become ok' from a nutrition perspective as cholesterol in eggs was shown to not affect serum cholesterol levels. Plus, I wonder how the vitamin D content in eggs is affected by the diet and environment of the animals. I find a big difference in the yolk color between eggs from discount food stores and farm-raised eggs I get from neighbors. I suspect the farm-raised eggs get more sunlight exposure and access to a more diverse diet.
The increase in soda/pop, juice drinks, and other non-dairy like drinks have taken the place of other drinks that provide Vitamin D. Milk use to be a staple of the stereotypical dinner and due to the increase in nutrient lacking beverages, milk consumption has declined. Vitamin D is found in few dietary sources and is fortified in selected foods, milk being one of them. If these are lacking from the diet, dietary Vitamin D will as well. While I do not think that the trends would shift the opposite way, we must remember that the sun has the potential to supply Vitamin D during the late spring and summer months in Minnesota. All sources should be looked at to fully assess Vitamin D status.
The fast food trend that many of you have touched on would coincide with my idea of the lack of the stereotypical dinner being present in homes today. The big table, well balanced, eat your vegetbles, drink your milk and please pass the bread and butter dinners are not too common anymore.
Kevin-
I agree with your input about increased consumption of sodas and other sugary drinks in place of milk. I think this is a huge factor in the decrease of vitamin d intake over the years.
I am on board with everyone's ideas about why vitamin D intake may be on the decline. The fact that fast food and soda are replacing home cooked meals and milk is certainly a factor. Meg also brings up an interesting point about farming practices. Do factory farmed eggs have less vitamin D than farm fresh eggs? How many people eat farm fresh eggs anymore? Also, remember parents or grandparents talking about taking cod liver oil? Its high in vitamin D. I'm not sure how many people still take that.
I think that diet trends could be a major factor. Throughout the 80's and 90's low fat diets were very popular. Vitamin D is found mostly in fat sources such as eggs, cod liver oil, salmon... Then we switched to diets of fast food that are high in fat but not fat that contains Vitamin D.
Cod liver oil - I had forgotten about that Vitamin D source!
Going to Kevin's sunlight comment, I wonder if overall sunlight intake (time spent outside) has decreased since the beginning of the study.
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