Does Vitamin D Work On Overweight People? In this article, you will read why vitamin D does not work on overweight people, what is a personalized dosage of vitamin D, and much more.
According to an American study, the benefits of vitamin D for health would be less in overweight and obese people. Although the mechanism involved remains to be elucidated, the researchers argue in favour of a personalized dosage of vitamin D.
Are you vitamin D deficient? Nearly, 7 out of 10 people suffer from a lack of this vitamin, which is nevertheless very useful. Vitamin D maintains bone strength, strengthens the immune system, and can reduce the risk of death from cancer. This is why it is often advisable to take the supplement, especially during the winter.
Does Vitamin D Works On Overweight People?
A new study provides important new data that overweight or obese people absorb vitamin D supplements too quickly and do not get the advantages of the supplements. In addition, overweight people are also at a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A rise in very low vitamin levels in overweight people:
For the study, the Massachusetts researchers analyzed data from one of the largest vitamin D trials to date, called the VITAL (Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial) study. As many as 26,000 people who took daily vitamin D supplements were followed for about 5 years on average between 2010 and 2018. Participants were over 50 years old and had no cancer or cardiovascular disease at the start of the study. Half took pills containing 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day (five times the recommended daily allowance). The other half was placed in the placebo group who took a dummy pill. The results after taking vitamin D showed that the supplemented group had a 20% lower overall risk of death from cancer,
What is a personalized dosage of vitamin D?
The Brigham researchers then wanted to see if body weight played a role in this reduction. They then also re-analyzed data from a smaller subset of 16,000 participants who also had blood tests at the start of the trial and up to two years after the start of the study. The sample included 6,600 people with a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight category and 4,400 in the obese or morbidly obese group (the rest were within the normal weight).
The results showed that:
Both groups saw an increase in vitamin D levels in their blood over the course of the study. The increase was significantly higher in the group that was not overweight or obese.
This study sheds light on why we are seeing a 30 to 40% reduction in death from cancer and autoimmune disease with vitamin D supplementation in people with a lower BMI, but a minimal benefit in those with a higher BMI. This suggests that it may be possible to obtain more benefits for the entire population with more personalized vitamin D dosing.
How to explain the less effective action of vitamin D in overweight people?
The study found that they had significantly lower levels of vitamin D in their blood compared to healthy people taking the same pills. Research had observed striking differences after two years, indicating a blunted response to vitamin D supplementation with higher body mass index (BMI). It seems something different is happening with vitamin D metabolism at higher body weights,
To explain this phenomenon, researchers currently have two theories:
The fat cells would absorb the vitamin better than the others and could extract more of it from the blood. Being overweight could impair the body’s ability to make or process vitamin D, leading to lower levels of vitamin D.
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