I was on the Vitamin D Council website today and found a great article in their Feb 21, 2012, newsletter. There's a lot in it regarding vitamin D benefits for the elderly and others, and one thing that particularly caught my eye was that in 2010, 81% of the New York Giants football team was diagnosed as being vitamin D deficient.  This was reported during a 2011 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine convention. The athletes who had vitamin D blood levels less than 30 ng/ml had more injuries including broken bones, sprains, and muscle pain. 

This report makes me even more puzzled why the Institute of Medicine would say that a level of 20 ng/ml is sufficient.  Certainly athletes aren't the only people in the world who have physical jobs that tend to increase the risk of injury.  What about our children out on the playground?