Larger waistlines are associated with higher risk of vitamin D deficiency: Study

Larger waistlines are associated with higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, according to a research.

The study reports that vitamin D levels are lower in individuals with higher levels of belly fat, and suggests that individuals, particularly the overweight with larger waistlines should have their vitamin D levels checked, to avoid any potentially health-damaging effects.

In this study, Rachida Rafiq and colleagues from the VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, examined how the amount of total body fat and abdominal fat measured in participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study related to their vitamin D levels.

After adjusting for a number of possible influencing factors, including chronic disease, alcohol intake and levels of physical activity, they found that the amounts of both total and abdominal fat were associated with lower vitamin D levels in women, although abdominal fat had a greater impact.

However, in men, abdominal fat and liver fat, was associated with lower vitamin D levels. In all cases, the greater the amount of belly fat, the lower the levels of detected vitamin D.

Rachida Rafiq commented, "Although we did not measure vitamin D deficiency in our study, the strong relationship between increasing amounts of abdominal fat and lower levels of vitamin D suggests that individuals with larger waistlines are at a greater risk of developing deficiency, and should consider having their vitamin D levels checked."

The data was presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018.