The veil is unhealthy...

Women who wear the veil face vitamin deficiencies...

North African refugees and Muslim Australians who wear veils have been warned they may not be getting enough vitamin D.

Of almost 150 North African migrants who took part in a health screening program, just two had sufficient levels of the vitamin which is needed for healthy bones and which the body derives from sun exposure.

The study was conducted in Sydney's southwestern suburbs in the winter and spring of 2006, and follow-up research, after the following summer, showed a slight increase in vitamin D levels but almost 90 per cent of those tested were still deficient.