Verified answer

Yes, there is a connection between bow legs and vitamin D. If the baby does not have enough vitamin D, the bones do not solidify well, and the weight of the body causes legs to bow.

It is possible that the bowlegedness is due to something else other than nutrition, but certainly vitamin D is needed by all humans, and you need to make sure that the baby has enough vitamin D.

WebMD states the following: ""There's evidence that many children are vitamin D-deficient long before they show signs of rickets," says Frank R. Greer, MD, a member of the AAP's Committee on Nutrition, and professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His committee helped write the new policy regarding baby development."

If the child already has bow legs, you should seek a doctor's advice. Sometimes, the bow is from the knee rather than the hip and is a different problem. Either can be fixed with some special braces used at night.

Lenore Hodges, PhD, RD

In some people, bowleggedness is a genetically inherited trait, but in that case it's usually not extreme enough to be a problem. Rarely, bowlegs are caused by a vitamin D deficiency (also called rickets) or by Blount's disease, a rare bone disorder that affects the shins.