ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how diet and nutrition influence future bone health, by describing relationships between later fracture risk and growth in childhood and adolescence, and the state of knowledge of nutritional rickets across the globe. It discusses the role of calcium and vitamin D deficiency in relation to clinical manifestations of rickets, osteomalacia and associated conditions. Nutritional rickets is a public health concern in many countries globally due to the high prevalence of vitamin D and/or dietary calcium deficiency in at-risk populations. Vitamin D deficiency rickets has a peak incidence from 6 months to about 2 years of age, with another peak occurring during the pubertal growth spurt. When determining the role of diet and nutrition in healthy musculoskeletal growth and development, it is important not to assume that international recommendations are equally applicable to all populations.
