It was concluded that having a higher-than-normal weight, body fat and BMI was linked to a poorer vitamin D profile.
The more obese a person is, the poorer is his or her vitamin D status.
Vitamin D scarcity can raise a risk for bone disease as well as some types of cancer.
To investigate the impact of obesity on vitamin D absorption, researchers tracked 1,464 women and 315 men from Norway, with an average age of 49 years for six years. Based on the participants' body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fat calculated from a person's weight and height, the average participant was deemed to be obese. About 11 percent were categorised as morbidly obese.
From the outset, overall vitamin D levels were found to be below the healthy range, the authors noted. By the end of the study, overall levels of vitamin D were found to have dropped off significantly while BMI readings rose by 5 percent. People with the lowest BMI readings had 14 percent higher vitamin D levels than those with the highest BMI readings.
It was concluded that having a higher-than-normal weight, body fat and BMI was linked to a poorer vitamin D profile.
Because vitamin D levels did not correlate properly with 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels (and in fact appeared to have an abnormal inverse relationship), the researchers suggested that future efforts to explore vitamin D status among obese people should test for both measures of vitamin D health. The researchers also recommended that that people who are overweight and obese might benefit from vitamin D supplementation and more exposure to sunlight.
Vitamin D scarcity can raise a risk for bone disease as well as some types of cancer.
To investigate the impact of obesity on vitamin D absorption, researchers tracked 1,464 women and 315 men from Norway, with an average age of 49 years for six years. Based on the participants' body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fat calculated from a person's weight and height, the average participant was deemed to be obese. About 11 percent were categorised as morbidly obese.
From the outset, overall vitamin D levels were found to be below the healthy range, the authors noted. By the end of the study, overall levels of vitamin D were found to have dropped off significantly while BMI readings rose by 5 percent. People with the lowest BMI readings had 14 percent higher vitamin D levels than those with the highest BMI readings.
It was concluded that having a higher-than-normal weight, body fat and BMI was linked to a poorer vitamin D profile.
Because vitamin D levels did not correlate properly with 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels (and in fact appeared to have an abnormal inverse relationship), the researchers suggested that future efforts to explore vitamin D status among obese people should test for both measures of vitamin D health. The researchers also recommended that that people who are overweight and obese might benefit from vitamin D supplementation and more exposure to sunlight.
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