CHICAGO (AP) — The country’s leading group of pediatricians is recommending that children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it might help prevent serious diseases.

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    To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take vitamin D supplements each day, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants — even those who get some formula — and many teenagers who drink little or no milk.

    Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants fed only formula generally do not need supplements. However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life, and breast milk is sometimes deficient.

    Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children do not drink enough of it — four cups daily would be needed — to meet the new requirement, said Dr. Frank Greer, who helped write the report.

    The new advice is based on mounting research about potential benefits from vitamin D besides keeping bones strong, including suggestions that it might reduce the risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. But the evidence is not conclusive, and there is no consensus on how much of the vitamin would be needed for disease prevention.

    The advice replaces a 2003 academy recommendation for 200 units daily. That is the amount the government recommends for people up to age 50; 400 units is recommended for adults ages 51 to 70, and 600 units for those 71 and older. Vitamin D is sold in capsules and tablets, as well as in drops for young children.

    The Institute of Medicine, a government advisory group that sets dietary standards, is discussing with federal agencies whether the recommendations should be changed based on the new research, said a spokeswoman, Christine Stencel.

    The recommendations were to be released Monday at an academy conference in Boston. They will be published in the November issue of the academy’s journal, Pediatrics.

    芝加哥（AP）：美國兒科醫生領導小組正建議兒童應該獲取2倍通常建議的維生素D劑量，因為證據表明，維D有助于防止嚴重疾病。

    不達到新的每天400毫克的建議量，數百萬兒童將需要每天食用維D補充劑，美國兒科協會稱。其中也包括母乳喂養的嬰兒，甚至包括吃奶粉的嬰兒，以及許多很少或不喝牛奶的少年。

    嬰兒奶粉含有維D，因此只吃奶粉的嬰兒通常不需要VD補充劑。不過，協會建議至少第一年應該母乳喂養，而母乳有時候是不夠的。

    大多數商業化牛奶都有強化VD，但大部分兒童喝得不夠，一天需要四杯，才能達到新的要求，協助寫報告的Frank Greer博士稱。

    新的建議的提出是基于有關維D除保持骨骼健壯以外的其它可能的好處的量研究提出的，包括維D可降低癌癥、糖尿病和心臟病的危險。但證據并不確定，產且對具體多少維生素才能防止疾病并無達成共識。

    建議取代了2003年提出的每天200單位的學術建議。200單位是政府建議50歲以前人士的攝取量，400單位是51至70歲人士的建議量，而71歲以上老人則建議每天獲取600單位。VD以膠囊和藥片形式出售，兒童裝還有滴劑。

    美國藥學會是一個政府咨詢機構，它設立飲食標準，現在它正在與聯邦機構討論是否應該根據最新研究結果進行推薦劑量調整，發言人Christine Stencel說。

    建議將在周一的波士頓學術會議上提出。并將發表在11月號的學術期刊《兒科》上。