Vitamin D supplements aid weight loss in obese and overweight people with vitamin D deficiency, according to Italian research presented during the recent European Congress on Obesity in Prague.

Previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with obesity and obesity-related complications. In this study, 6 per cent of overweight people (BMI 25.0-29.9kg/m²) and 30-40 per cent of the morbidly obese (BMI over 40kg/m²) in Northern Italy showed severe vitamin D deficiency (less than 10ng/ml).

Against this background, the authors enrolled 86 overweight people, 170 with class I obesity (BMI 30-34.9kg/m²), 92 with class II obesity (35-39.9kg/m²) and 52 morbidly obese patients. Researchers asked patients to follow a moderately low calorie diet without vitamin D supplementation or with 25,000 IU or 100,000 IU cholecalciferol a month. After six months, patients taking vitamin D supplements showed greater reductions in weight (3.8kg and 5.4kg with 25,000 IU and 100,000 IU respectively) and waist circumference (4.00cm and 5.48cm respectively) than controls (1.2kg and 3.21cm).

In addition, BMI declined by 0.65, 1.76 and 2.50kg/m² in the control, 25,000 IU and 100,000 IU groups respectively and fat mass by 0.80, 1.60 and 1.72 per cent respectively. The authors recommend that “all people affected by obesity should have their levels of vitamin D tested to see if they are deficient, and if so, begin taking supplements”.

 

Vit D to combat obesity?