Thai women’s obsession with white skin could cause health problems, study says

According to a new study out of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, many Thai women are at risk of vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of bone disease when they get older because of their obsession with avoiding the sun.

Thanomwong Kritpet, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of sport science, said a study of women aged 25-40 years showed that they had an average vitamin D level in their blood of only 20 nanogrammes per milliliter, which is below the minimum health standard of 30.

She attributed this low vitamin D level to the proclivity of many Thai women to have white skin.

Many of them spend all their time indoors, Thanomwong said, which further reduces the opportunity for their skin to be exposed to the sun.

Exposure of the skin to sunlight stimulates the production of vitamin D in the body, which helps the absorption of calcium in the intestines into the blood. Vitamin D also helps slow the release of the parathyroid hormone which leaches calcium from the bone.

If these women do not get more sunlight they could be at high risk for bone-related diseases such as brittle bone and osteoporosis when they get older.

She suggested that women expose themselves to the sun in the morning and evening, when the rays are not so strong. They could also build up their vitamin D by exercising in shaded outdoor areas, the Bangkok Post reported.

 



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