A recent study has revealed that bigger waistline and high level of belly fat is a sign of lower levels of Vitamin D. We all know that Vitamin D is known to be one of the most important minerals of the body and is responsible for a varied roles. It does protect your body against cancer, diabetes, hair-loss as well as heart failure. Though it is related to bone health it does have a role to play in areas of autoimmune diseases and respiratory tract infections, to name a few.
Indian population is said to have a deficiency of Vitamin D on an epidemic scale with around 70 – 100 percent of the population known to have Vitamin D Deficiency. While the link between Obesity and lower Vitamin D levels are always known, a team of researchers tried to dig into the details and understand more on the location as well as the type of role it plays. The study was based on the data of thousands of women from Epidemiology of obesity study of Netherlands.
The researching team concentrated on total fat that included belly fat (abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue) under the skin (visceral adipose tissue) as well as in the liver (hepatic fat) and around the organs. They even made necessary adjustments around data with respect to education level, chronic disease, smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity levels.
The study found that abdominal fat had the greatest effect of lower vitamin D levels while both abdominal fat as well as total fat were linked to the deficiency in vitamin D. The other fact that came forth was in both males and females higher belly fat pointed to lower Vitamin D levels.
The study also revealed that people who have bigger waistlines are at a higher risk of developing Vitamin D deficiency and need to check up their Vitamin D levels as well. The study also sorts answers around questions like the reason behind the Vitamin D Deficiency, whether it was because the belly fat increased or was it that the deficiency resulted in the fat being stored in the belly part. Even though it’s tricky to draw a conclusion on why there is an association between vitamin D levels and obesity but one point is clear that there is apparently a strong association and that vitamin D has a definite role to play in terms of fat storage in the abdomen and function