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Not enough vitamin D in the diet could mean too much fat on adolescents
March 13, 2009AUGUSTA, Ga. - Too little vitamin D could be bad for more than your bones; it may also lead to fatter adolescents, researchers say.
A Medical College of Georgia study of more than 650 teens age 14-19 has found that those who reported higher vitamin D intakes had lower overall body fat and lower amounts of the fat in the abdomen, a type of fat known as visceral fat, which has been associated with health risks such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension.
The group with the lowest vitamin D intake, black females, had higher percentages of both body fat and visceral fat, while black males had the lowest percentages of body and visceral fat, even though their vitamin D intake was below the recommended levels. Only one group - white males - was getting the recommended minimum intake of vitamin D.
"This study was a cross-section so, while it cannot prove that higher intake of vitamin D caused the lower body fat, we know there is a relationship that needs to be explored further," says Dr. Yanbin Dong, a molecular geneticist and cardiologist at the MCG Gerogia Prevention Institute.
Dr. Dong, who also co-directs the MCG Diabetes & Obesity Discovery Institute, and Inger Stallman-Jorgensen, a research dietician at the GPI, present their findings this week at the American Heart Association's Joint 49th Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism in Palm Harbor, Fla.
The pair will next study whether it is feasible for teens to take a daily vitamin D supplement in pill form. Those results will help them design a larger study to explore the relationship between vitamin D intake and body fat levels in teens.
"We already know that encouraging teens to get an adequate amount of vitamin D in their diets will help promote a healthy body as they grow and develop," Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen says. "Now we need to do intervention studies where we give teens vitamin D supplements to determine if there is a cause and effect relationship between vitamin D intake and fat."
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adolescents get at least 400 units of vitamin D per day - either from milk or sun exposure. There are typically 100 units in one 8-ounce glass of whole milk. The recommended daily dose from the sun would require at least 30 minutes of adequate exposure to direct sunlight two or three times a week at peak hours, between noon and 3 p.m.
Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen said there are many reasons teens don't get enough vitamin D, which has been linked to the prevention of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"As humans, our largest source of vitamin D should be the sun. But we don't spend enough time outdoors to get enough sun exposure and when we do, we're often covered up and wearing sunscreen," she said. "We can get vitamin D from certain foods, like fatty fish and liver, but it's not in a lot of foods that we commonly consume. In this country, our milk is fortified with vitamin D. Unfortunately, teens just don't drink enough milk to get their daily requirements."
She points out that low sunlight during the winter months reduces the amount of vitamin D the skin produces, and that darker-skinned people obtain less vitamin D from the sun because the extra melanin in their skin filters out more sunlight.
Some people can't tolerate milk because they lack the enzyme that processes lactose, the natural sugar in milk, though "most people can handle it in small amounts," Ms. Stallman says.
Cultural issues may also be at play, Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen says.
"Most teens want to drink sodas and sugary drinks. It's not cool to drink milk - they think of it as more of a food for babies," she said.
Potential study participants had their weekday and weekend diets tracked by researchers seven times during a three-month period. Those who provided at least four diet reports were included in the final group of 659.
Body fat percentages were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, which can measure total body composition. Visceral fat was measured in a subset of 432 teens.
Medical College of Georgia
"This study was a cross-section so, while it cannot prove that higher intake of vitamin D caused the lower body fat, we know there is a relationship that needs to be explored further," says Dr. Yanbin Dong, a molecular geneticist and cardiologist at the MCG Gerogia Prevention Institute.
Dr. Dong, who also co-directs the MCG Diabetes & Obesity Discovery Institute, and Inger Stallman-Jorgensen, a research dietician at the GPI, present their findings this week at the American Heart Association's Joint 49th Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism in Palm Harbor, Fla.
The pair will next study whether it is feasible for teens to take a daily vitamin D supplement in pill form. Those results will help them design a larger study to explore the relationship between vitamin D intake and body fat levels in teens.
"We already know that encouraging teens to get an adequate amount of vitamin D in their diets will help promote a healthy body as they grow and develop," Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen says. "Now we need to do intervention studies where we give teens vitamin D supplements to determine if there is a cause and effect relationship between vitamin D intake and fat."
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adolescents get at least 400 units of vitamin D per day - either from milk or sun exposure. There are typically 100 units in one 8-ounce glass of whole milk. The recommended daily dose from the sun would require at least 30 minutes of adequate exposure to direct sunlight two or three times a week at peak hours, between noon and 3 p.m.
Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen said there are many reasons teens don't get enough vitamin D, which has been linked to the prevention of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"As humans, our largest source of vitamin D should be the sun. But we don't spend enough time outdoors to get enough sun exposure and when we do, we're often covered up and wearing sunscreen," she said. "We can get vitamin D from certain foods, like fatty fish and liver, but it's not in a lot of foods that we commonly consume. In this country, our milk is fortified with vitamin D. Unfortunately, teens just don't drink enough milk to get their daily requirements."
She points out that low sunlight during the winter months reduces the amount of vitamin D the skin produces, and that darker-skinned people obtain less vitamin D from the sun because the extra melanin in their skin filters out more sunlight.
Some people can't tolerate milk because they lack the enzyme that processes lactose, the natural sugar in milk, though "most people can handle it in small amounts," Ms. Stallman says.
Cultural issues may also be at play, Ms. Stallman-Jorgensen says.
"Most teens want to drink sodas and sugary drinks. It's not cool to drink milk - they think of it as more of a food for babies," she said.
Potential study participants had their weekday and weekend diets tracked by researchers seven times during a three-month period. Those who provided at least four diet reports were included in the final group of 659.
Body fat percentages were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, which can measure total body composition. Visceral fat was measured in a subset of 432 teens.
Medical College of Georgia
Vitamin D Current Events and Vitamin D News RSSMultiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.
New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death
While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.
Lactose intolerance rates may be significantly lower than previously believed
Prevalence of lactose intolerance may be far lower than previously estimated, according to a study in the latest issue of Nutrition Today.
Nation's hip fracture rate could drop 25 percent with aggressive osteoporosis prevention
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Latest analysis confirms suboptimal vitamin D levels in millions of US children
Millions of children in the United States between the ages of 1 and 11 may suffer from suboptimal levels of vitamin D, according to a large nationally representative study published in the November issue of Pediatrics, accompanied by an editorial.
Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels
Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
New link found between osteoporosis and coeliac disease
People with coeliac disease may develop osteoporosis because their immune system attacks their bone tissue, a new study has shown.
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A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age.
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Vitamin D-3 (2000IU) 120 sgels by NOW NOW Vitamin D softgels supply this key vitamin in a highly-absorbable liquid softgel form. Vitamin D is normally obtained from the diet or produced by the skin from the ultraviolet energy of the sun. However, it is not abundant in food. As more people avoid sun exposure, Vitamin D supplementation becomes even more necessary to ensure that your body receives an adequate supply. * Picture may be of different size or flavor | |
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Life Extension - Vitamin D3 (1000iu), 1000IU, 250 capsules by Life Extension Vitamin D is necessary for utilization of calcium and phosphorus and in many ways acts as a hormone.78-80 The two most important forms of vitamin D are cholecalciferol (D3), which is derived from our own cholesterol and ergocalciferol (D2), a plant analogue derived from the diet. The cholecalciferol supplied by the Life Extension Buyers Club is synthetic, but its form is identical to that which is derived from cholesterol and synthesized by sunlight on the skin. Cholecalciferol Vitamin D is essential for bone growth and maintenance of bone density. A dietary deficiency of vitamin D inhibits the production of the protein that binds calcium in the intestines, so that calcium cannot be absorbed, even if there is adequate intake. Deficiencies of vitamin D are often found in the elderly and... | |
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