Vitamin D and Weight Gain
With one third of the United States adult population considered obese, it’s no wonder the U.S. weight loss market is a $60 billion industry. Fad diets, “miracle” pills and the ultimate workout routine headline every thing from our daily news programs to late night info-mercials.
But what if part of the solution we’re searching for is as simple as a well-known, though often insufficient, fat-soluble vitamin we are all quite familiar with? Research suggests it may be.
Best known for the role it plays in optimizing bone health, research has also shown an inverse correlation between circulating vitamin D levels and body mass index, weight, abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat.
A recent study found women with sub-optimal vitamin D levels have 40% more subcutaneous fat than women with optimal vitamin D levels. Women with insufficient vitamin D levels had 80% more abdominal fat that their optimal counterparts.
The correlation between low vitamin D and obesity may aid the success of overweight individuals participating in weight loss programs.
While intending to research bone density and vitamin D level correlation in women, researchers found that baseline vitamin D levels can be used to predict abdominal fat loss.
For every 1ng/ml more vitamin D in the blood level of women, women in the study lost ½ pound more weight. Most American women have low or insufficient vitamin D levels ranging from 12 – 32 ng/ml.
What can be gleaned from this research is that women on the lower end of these numbers tend to lose almost a pound a week less than those on the higher end. The correlation of this increased weight loss ability with higher levels of vitamin D may be a result of the vitamin’s ability to increase insulin production and sensitivity in addition to compounding factors yet to be identified.
Just this month a large study determined that 25(OH) vitamin D serum levels were highly associated with adiponectin concentrations. Adiponectin is a hormone produced by adipose tissue that is involved with glucose regulation and fatty acid catabolism.
Low levels of this hormone are considered an independent risk factor for metabolic syndrome. This may be just one of the many mechanisms through which vitamin D affects weight control.
Simple blood tests can determine your vitamin D levels.