Obesity may be a factor in vitamin D deficiency

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 by: Amelia Bentrup
Tags: obesity, vitamin D, health news

(NewsTarget) People who weigh more have lower circulating levels of Vitamin D according to recent research conducted at the Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Medical Center in Oslo, Norway and published in the Journal of Nutrition. Lead researcher, Zoya Lagunova, MD and her colleagues measured the serum levels of Vitamin D and 1,25(OH)2D in 1,779 patients at a Medical and Metabolic Lifestyle Management Clinic in Oslo, Norway. The associations among 1,25(OH)(2)D, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], and body composition were analyzed. Lagunova noted that generally people with higher BMI had lower levels of Vitamin D. Age, season, and gender were also found to influence serum 1,25(OH)(2)D.

Vitamin D is not a true vitamin, but rather a vitamin-steroid thought to play a key role in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. It is likely not coincidental that obesity is also a risk factor for many of these diseases.

Vitamin D is vital to the regulation of calcium. Studies have shown that calcium deficiency increases the production of synthase, an enzyme that converts calories into fat. It has been shown that calcium deficiency can increase synthase production by up to 500 percent. Vitamin D has also been shown to play a role in the regulation of blood sugar levels; proper blood sugar regulation is vital to the maintenance of a healthy weight.

Vitamin D is produced from sunlight and converted into various metabolites. It is stored in fat tissue. According to Lagunova, obese people may take in as much Vitamin D as other people; however, because it is stored in fat it may be less available. This may result in lower circulating levels of Vitamin D.

A previous study conducted by Shalamar Sibley, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, showed that subjects who have higher levels of Vitamin D at the start of a weight loss diet lose more weight than those with lower levels. The study measured Vitamin D levels of 38 overweight men and women both before and after following an 11-week calorie-restricted diet. Vitamin D levels at the start of diet was an accurate predictor of weight loss...those with higher levels of Vitamin D lost more weight. It was found that for every nanogram increase in Vitamin D precursor, there was an 1/2 pound increase in weight loss.

Seventy-five percent or more of Americans, teenage and older, are Vitamin D deficient according to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 26.5% of American are obese. More research needs to be conducted into the exact role Vitamin D plays in obesity and weight loss and the possibility of increased Vitamin D consumption (through the form of supplementation and/or increased sun exposure) being a key factor to achieving a healthy weight.

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/news/20101217/obesity-l...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21084655

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153...

https://www.naturalnews.com/028051_Vitamin_D_...

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100210/perc...

About the author

Amelia Bentrup is the owner and editor of http://www.my-home-remedies.com a well-researched collection of natural home remedies. Discover natural cures for a variety of ailments and find specific information and safety guidelines for various herbs, vitamins, minerals and essential oils.