Islamic Attire and Health: Difference between revisions

Due to this reason, serious vitamin D deficiency is wide-spread in many Muslim majority countries. A study performed by doctors at King Fahd University Hospital in Saudi Arabia, showed that out of all 52 women tested, ''all'' had seriously deficient levels of Vitamin D and were at risk of many serious health problems, despite living in one of the sunniest places on the planet.<ref>Elsammak, M.Y., et al., Vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabs. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 2010. 42(5): p. 364-368.</ref> Furthermore, in a study undertaken in Jordan, 83.3% of women wearing the most covering style of Islamic dresses were found to be deficient in summer time. This is rather striking when compared to the fact only 18.2% of Jordanian men studied were found to be deficient.<ref>Mishal, A.A., Effects of Different Dress Styles on Vitamin D Levels in Healthy Young Jordanian Women. Osteoporosis International, 2001. 12(11): p. 931-935.</ref> Jordan, like Saudi Arabia, holds the distinction of being one of the sunniest places on the planet, so the effect of wearing the burqa on Vitamin D levels and health is profound.

There is also concern for the health of immigrants from Islamic majority countries, most of which are around the equator and receive the highest amount of sunlight of any place on earth. There concern arises when these women migrate to countries with lower amounts of sunlight throughout the year compared to their previous home country. Skin tone is darkest at the equator in response to the sunlight.<ref>Barsh, G.S., What Controls Variation in Human Skin Color? PLoS Biol, 2003. 1(1): p. e27.</ref><ref>Relethford, J.H., Hemispheric difference in human skin color. American journal of physical anthropology, 1997. 104(4): p. 449-457.</ref> Darker skin blocks out significantly more UV radiation and hence decreases Vitamin D production by an enormous amount (people with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 - 30 times as much exposure to sunlight).<ref>Mike Adams - [http://www.naturalnews.com/003069.html Vitamin D myths, facts and statistics] - NaturalNews, January 1, 2005</ref> All these factors combined with the heavily covering Islamic dress create serious potential health concerns for Islamic migrants in countries away from the equator such as Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.<ref>Hagenau, T., et al., Global vitamin D levels in relation to age, gender, skin pigmentation and latitude: an ecologic meta-regression analysis. Osteoporosis International, 2009. 20(1): p. 133-140.</ref><ref>Hanley, D.A. and K.S. Davison, Vitamin D Insufficiency in North America. The Journal of Nutrition, 2005. 135(2): p. 332-337</ref>

In the United Kingdom, cases of rickets have been rare until recently. Cases of the disease have increased dramatically due to the growing Muslim population.<ref>

* [[Health]]