The benefits of vitamin D on body function and the incidence of various diseases may depend on body weight according to a recent US-based study. This was what researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital deducted after a preliminary analysis of data from the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (Vital), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Vitamin D
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The Vital trial included 16,515 participants with a mean age of 66.7 years of which 50.7% were women. They all gave blood samples before starting vitamin D supplementation, and 2,742 gave follow-up blood samples 2 years after. The researchers measured total and free vitamin D levels as well as many other biomarkers of vitamin D, such as its metabolites, calcium, and parathyroid hormone, which increase vitamin absorption.
The results showed that vitamin D supplementation increased most biomarkers associated with the metabolism of this fat-soluble vitamin in all participants. However, these increases were greater in participants with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25. People with a high BMI did not have the same benefits from vitamin D supplementation the study showed.
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Additionally, the researchers also found that people with a BMI below 25 had significantly better health outcomes than those with a high BMI, including a lower incidence of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
According to Deirdre K. Tobias an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard and an associate epidemiologist in Brigham’s Division of Preventive Medicine and co-author of the new study, the Analysis of the original Vital trial data showed that using vitamin D for supplementation was correlated with positive effects on several health outcomes, but only in those with a BMI less than 25. “It appears that something different happens with vitamin D metabolism when body weight is high, and this study may help explain the poorer outcomes of supplementation in people with high BMI,” she adds.
These findings suggest that body weight may affect vitamin D metabolism and response to supplementation with it. It is possible that overweight or obese individuals may need higher doses of vitamin D to achieve the same benefits as normal-weight individuals. The researchers, therefore, recommend weight-specific vitamin D dosing to maximize the health benefits of vitamin D.
It is however very important to note that this study did not prove a direct causal relationship between body weight and response to vitamin D supplementation, but rather a correlation. Further research is still needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying this relationship.
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References
Association of Body Weight With Response to Vitamin D Supplementation and Metabolism
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