It has become commonplace for the ordinary Ghanaian to boast of the sun's obligation to supply him daily dose of vitamin D.

But it is emerging that we overestimated the glare of the yellow sphere.

A research by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has found Vitamin D deficiency is high among Ghana's adult population despite the abundant sunlight.

The study is published in the 2021 edition of Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.

Vitamin D is important for the normal functioning of the body. 

It is produced through skin exposure to sunlight and from food consumed. 

Although Ghana is located in the tropics where sunlight is abundant, factors like culture, diet, skin pigmentation, among others can influence the optimization of vitamin D utilisation.

The scientists, led by Dr. Samuel Sakyi of the Department of Molecular Medicine, sought to measure the relationship between sunshine exposure and vitamin D status in 3 geographical parts among healthy Ghanaian population.

The researchers recruited 500 healthy blood donors between 17 and 55 years.

The study found that the overall deficiency was 43.6 percent.

They again found that there was low knowledge about vitamin D foods for those at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

The researchers advised that there is the need to increase knowledge on vitamin D and the daily dosage required for healthy living.

“We should make conscious efforts to walk in the sun and take solely vitamin D capsules.

“We should broaden the study to have a large data to know the real extent of vitamin D deficiency,” he recommended.