Every child in the country should be given free vitamins by the NHS in order to stave off the return of rickets, the Chief Medical Officer for England has said.
Experts said the changes should be introduced because too many children were being denied vital nutrients by poor diets, while getting too little sunshine because they spend too much time indoors on computers and gaming consoles.
In other cases, parents have become so worried about skin cancer that they smother children in too much sunscreen when they do go outside, inadvertently increasing their risk of rickets, which is caused by vitamin D deficiency, doctors said.
The bone-deforming disease – which was rife in the Victorian era – had been virtually wiped out, but has returned and risen five-fold in the past 15 years, figures show.
Prof Dame Sally Davies, has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to examine whether to introduce free vitamins for all under-fives, but she said she believed it would be cost-effective, and was now necessary to reverse the “appalling” return of the disease.
As well as causing brittle bones, bow legs and other deformities, deficiencies of vitamin D can be fatal, causing a type of heart failure.
Estimates suggest that 40 per cent of children have levels of the vitamin below recommended thresholds, because of a combination of poor diets and lack of exposure to sunshine.
Currently, parents are advised that under-fives should have daily vitamin drops, but they are only given free to deprived families as part of Healthy Start programs.
NICE will examine whether all children between six months and the age of five should receive the vitamins A, C and D via drops or tablets.
Prof Davies said: “We know that many children, not just in vulnerable groups have vitamin deficiencies. We are seeing again rickets.. it is appalling.”
She said a scheme in Birmingham to offer free vitamin D supplements to all children has halved the number of cases of rickets and other vitamin D deficiency problems in the area.
Between 1998 and 2011, the number of cases of rickets admitted to hospital each year increased more than five-fold, from 147 to 762, official figures show.
Doctors said the disease had returned because today’s children spend far more time indoors on their computers than previous generations, instead of playing outside with friends, often eating poorer diets.
Messages to protect children from skin cancer meant some parents were smothering on too much sunscreen, so that their offspring did not absorb enough vitamin D.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP in inner city London, said she has seen increasing cases in recent years: “Children just don’t spend as much time outside as they did in the past, and parents who have taken note of messages to protect children against skin cancer are sometimes too extreme with the sunscreen, so that children don’t get any exposure.”
Doctors said children were less likely to be given cod liver oil, a good source of vitamin D, which was often given to previous generations, and sometimes rejected the types of food such as oily fish which contain it.
The best source of vitamin D, which is essential for keeping bones and teeth healthy, is sun on the skin but it also occurs in some foods, such as oily fish and eggs, and is added to some items such as fat spreads and breakfast cereals.
Vitamin A, found in dairy, fortified fat spreads, carrots, sweet potatoes, swede, mangoes and dark green vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and broccoli is essential for strengthening the immune system, vision and maintaining healthy skin. Vitamin C, which boosts the immune system and helps the body absorb iron, can be found in many fruits and some vegetables.
Dr Tim Cheetham, a consultant pediatrician at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, said: “There are combinations of reasons – diet and also ethnic background play a part, because dark skin absorbs less vitamin D, but certainly reduced exposure to sunlight is one of the reasons why we are seeing increasing cases.”