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Different groups of people need varying amounts of nutrients and vitamins for many reasons. The most common reason is physical growth. For example, as a child grows, he or she generally needs more nutrients than an adult who is not growing.
For vitamin D, the recommendations are divided into infants, children and adults to age 50, adults between 50 and 70, and adults over 70 years.
Infants who are bottle-fed should be receiving a formula that is fortified with vitamin D; this is at least 40 IU (international units) per 100 calories of formula. Breast-fed babies should receive a vitamin D supplement the first few months of their life, usually 200 IU per day. Children and adult to age 50 need about 200 IU per day, over 50 to 70 years old need 400 IU per day, and over 70 need 600 IUs per day.
People who cover their skin for cultural reasons, who are homebound and don't go outside, or who have dark skin pigmentation should be particularly aware of taking in the daily requirements.
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