ng More Than 15% Body Weight Significantly Boosts Vitamin D Levels in Obese Women

http://www.aakp.org/newsletters/diet/June-2011/vitamin-D/

 

Overweight or obese women with less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D who lose more than 15% of their body weight experience significant increases in circulating levels of this fat-soluble nutrients.

The year-long study involved 439 overweight-to-obese, sedentary, postmenopausal Seattle-area women, ages 50 to 75, who were randomly assigned to one of four groups: exercise only, diet only, exercise plus diet and no intervention.

Those who lost 5 percent to 10 percent of their body weight - equivalent to approximately 10 to 20 pounds for most of the women in the study - through diet and/or exercise saw a relatively small increase in blood levels of vitamin D, whereas women who lost more than 15 percent of their weight experienced a nearly threefold increase in vitamin D independent of dietary intake of the nutrient.

It is thought that obese and overweight people have lower levels of vitamin D because the nutrient is stored in fat deposits. During weight loss, it is suspected that the vitamin D that is trapped in the fat tissue is released into the blood and available for use throughout the body.................