New Zealand may rethink its cancer preventing "slip slop slap" message if it's to beat a revival of the Victorian-era bone disease rickets.
Otago University research shows 58 New Zealand children were diagnosed with the condition between July 2010 and June 2013.
None of these patients was prescribed medication, and one third of the children went on to develop an obvious skeletal deformity, mostly bow legs.
Rickets is caused by prolonged vitamin D deficiency. As well as from diet, it is produced by the body in response to skin being exposed to sunlight.
Researcher Dr Ben Wheeler said the actual number of cases was likely to be higher.
The government is taking advice on what steps are needed to control the condition, usually associated with settlers who came to New Zealand by ship a hundred years ago.
The Labour Party's health spokeswoman Annette King said the results were a surprise and suggested the nation may have gone too far with its sun protection message.
"Maybe we need to look at whether we've gone overboard with covering kids up with suntan lotion, hats and keeping them inside," she told journalists on Tuesday.
She said she held particular concerns for young people who live in flats, and called for better education among this group.
"There's very little opportunity for these people to play outside other than when they're at school."
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said he was yet to read the report but was taking advice on what actions were needed.
"That is a disease that we would not want to see taking hold in New Zealand so we've got to make sure we address it," Dr Coleman said.
The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, found children with darker skin pigment, those living in the southern regions and those that were exclusively breastfed were at higher risk of developing the disorder.
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