Young Indian, Chinese and Korean women are being sought for a study to see if some ethnic groups are vitamin D deficient through lack of sun and at higher risk of developing bone disease.
Albany Massey University institute of food, nutrition and human health researcher Pamela Von Hurst is doing a study because of a concern about high rates of vitamin D deficiency and low bone mineral density.
Ms Von Hurst has done previous studies on south Asian women who had migrated to New Zealand.
Most reported they avoided the sun because of public health warnings about skin cancer.
She has also investigated the effects of improving vitamin D status through supplementation and the bone health of south Asian women living in New Zealand.
“Previous studies suggest many people are failing to achieve good vitamin D levels and this potentially affects their long-term health,” says Ms Von Hurst.
She recently won a food standards Australia New Zealand award for her work at the New Zealand Dietetic Association’s conference.
“The consequences of inadequate vitamin D are known to extend beyond poor health,” she says.
Ms Von Hurst says it can relate to muscle loss, cancer, heart disease, auto-immune conditions and type 2 diabetes.
For the Kalya study, the team will test the nutritional status of 150 women aged 20 to 29 from European, Indian, Korean and Chinese ethnicities.
They are presently seeking Indian, Korean and Chinese women.
Those interested in the Kalya study can email to register or for more information to kalya_study@massey.ac.nz
