Exposing a child to sunshine in the first six months of life reduces their risk of obesity

  • New research suggests that sunshine-induced vitamin D helps prevent obesity in children. This column uses nearly two decades of data from compulsory health screenings for children in Germany – combined with information on daily sun at the district level – and concludes that exposure to 100 hours more sunshine in the first six months of life reduces the risk of severe obesity at age six by 6%. These findings have important public health implications, as vitamin D intake can be increased at low cost through dietary supplements for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

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Author:Malte SandnerORCiD, Christian Dustmann, Uta Schönberg
URL / DOI:https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/exposing-child-sunshine-first-six-months-life-reduces-their-risk-obesity
Parent Title (English):VoxEU
Editor:Malte SandnerORCiD
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of first Publication:2022/10/02
Release Date:2025/07/17
institutes:Fakultät Betriebswirtschaft
Research Themes:Soziale & ökonomische Transformation
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