Compliance with Dietary Guidelines and Increased Fortification Can Double Vitamin D Intake: A Simulation Study

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism Vol. 69; no. 3-4; p. 246
• Main Authors: Harika, Rajwinder K, Dötsch-Klerk, Mariska, Zock, Peter L, Eilander, Ans
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Adult; Computer Simulation; Diet Surveys; Female; Fish Products; Food, Fortified; Humans; Male; Margarine; Meat; Middle Aged; Netherlands - epidemiology; Nutrition Policy; Nutritional Requirements; Sweden - epidemiology; United Kingdom - epidemiology; Vitamin D - administration & dosage; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Vitamin D Deficiency - prevention & control; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1421-9697
• DOI: 10.1159/000454930

The study aimed to determine the potential of compliance with Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) and increased vitamin D fortification to meet the recommended intake level of vitamin D at 10 µg/day based on minimal exposure to sunlight.
The main dietary sources of vitamin D were derived from national dietary surveys in adults from United Kingdom (UK) (n = 911), Netherlands (NL) (n = 1,526), and Sweden (SE) (n = 974). The theoretical increase in population vitamin D intake was simulated for the following: (1) compliance with FBDG, (2) increased level of vitamin D in commonly fortified foods, and (3) combination of both.
Median usual vitamin D intake was 2.4 (interquartile range 1.7-3.4) µg/day in UK, 3.4 (2.7-4.2) µg/day in NL, and 5.3 (3.9-7.3) µg/day in SE. The top 3 dietary sources of vitamin D were fish, fat-based spreads (margarines), and meat. Together, these delivered up to two-thirds of total vitamin D intake on average. Compliance with FBDG for fish, margarine, and meat increased vitamin D intake to 4.6 (4.1-5.1) µg/day in UK, 5.2 (4.9-5.5) µg/day in NL, and 7.7 (7.0-8.5) µg/day in SE. Doubling the vitamin D levels in margarines and milk would increase vitamin D intake to 4.9 (3.6-6.5) µg/day in UK, 6.6 (4.8-8.6) µg/day in NL, and 7.2 (5.2-9.8) µg/day in SE. Combining both scenarios would increase vitamin D intake to 7.9 (6.8-9.2) µg/day in UK, 8.8 (7.4-10.4) µg/day in NL, and 8.9 (6.9-11.8) µg/day in SE.
This study highlights the potential of dietary measures to double the current vitamin D intake in adults.