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The urban lifestyle of Singaporeans may be to blame for the fact that many lack vitamin D, which is produced when skin is exposed to the sun.
 Sunlight may be abundant in tropical Singapore, but people do not seem to be getting enough of these vitamin D-generating rays.
A study last year by doctors on Singaporeans aged between 20 and 82 found that a significant number of them are vitamin-D deficient.
Deficiency is more common in Indians and Malays than the Chinese and more so in women than in men – 12.5 per cent of Indian women compared to 7.5 per cent of Indian men, and 7.5 per cent of Malay women versus 2.5 per cent of Malay men. Such a deficiency may lead to osteomalacia, where bones soften and become more prone to fractures.
Vitamin D enables the body to process calcium, the key to strong bones. It is produced by the skin upon exposure to the sun.
A fast-paced urban lifestyle is partly to blame. The study revealed that many urbanites spend their time indoors, sedentary and in air-conditioned environments. There are also some people who take their fear of skin cancer to the extreme and avoid the sun totally.
With indoor lifestyles becoming the norm, people will need to make a conscious effort to include vitamin D in their diets, said Dr Lee Haw Chou, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and director of the spine service at Changi General Hospital. Adults aged between 19 and 65 need 700mg of calcium and 400 units of vitamin D daily. Those above 65 require an additional 400 units of vitamin D. One should also try to adopt a more active lifestyle.
“A sedentary lifestyle increases one’s overall weight without increasing bone strength and this leads to problems,” said Dr Lee. “Regular impact exercises will help to maintain or increase bone strength as they put bones under stress, forcing them to remodel.” Remodelling is the replacing of old bone with new bone tissue.
Bone-strengthening activities include brisk walking, stair climbing and dancing. However, doctors do warn against engaging in long, strenuous workouts. “People tend to punish their bodies during the weekends to compensate for all the exercise they missed during the week – these are the so-called weekend warriors – but it often results in injuries,” say doctors. Instead, they should exercise moderately several times a week, with each session lasting about 30 minutes.
In a nutshell, Dr Lee has this piece of advice for those keen to make lifestyle changes in order to prevent bone ailments. “Leading a healthy lifestyle is what you must like and want to do. Learn to enjoy eating healthily and sweating it out, ” he said.
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