75% Of Women In India Vitamin D Deficient: Survey

According to a research by SRL Diagnostics, 75 per cent of the women in India are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. The survey, which started in 2013 and went on till this year, revealed that 75-80 per cent of women across India did not have enough Vitamin D in their blood. The statistics were even more shocking for the women in South India where 81 per cent suffered from inadequate amount of the vitamin.

Vitamin D deficiency leads to chronic muscle pain, spasms, low energy levels, depression, sleep irregularities and even mood swings. Not just this, but it even leads to bones becoming thinner and weaker, which is especially a problem for women as they are prone to osteoporosis. Their oestrogen levels are low post-menopause and this may cause difficulty in stimulating the mechanism that develops bone tissue. According to studies, Vitamin D is important for reducing hypertension, and some cardiovascular diseases. University of Warwick researched to conclude that low levels of vitamin D can also increase the chance of bladder cancer.

Of the 230 million Indians expected to be over the age of 50 years in 2015, 20%, i.e, 46 million, are women with osteoporosis

It is surprising that this deficiency is also because of social and cultural constraints that women have to go through. A girl child is neglected when it comes to proper nutrients, thus making her a victim of malnutrition. A balanced diet plays an important role is getting all the vitamins and nutrients that the body needs to function properly.

According to the CRY foundation:

• 42% of married women in India were married as children (District Information System for Education)
• 1 in every 3 child brides in the world is a girl in India (UNICEF)
• India has more than 4.5 lakh girls under 15 years of age who are married with children. Of these, 70% of the girls have 2 children (Census 2011)

Early marriage hampers their growth and puts these girls' health at risk. Women in general prioritise their family's health over their own, and this too, makes them vulnerable.

Sonali Bendre, ambassador of Revital H Woman, told SheThePeopleTv that women in India take their health very casually. Be it social conditioning or a mindset, they are programmed to put their family's needs before their own, and this is a mistake that needs to be rectified.

Feature Image Courtesy: TheHealthSite.com