It so hard to lose weight. Now there is the suggestion that low levels of vitamin D may provide yet another difficulty for weight loss. Do high vitamin D levels equal successful weight loss?

In the last few years it has been discovered that many adults are vitamin D deficient. This is a combination of eating less vitamin D containing foods, and the recent horror of getting any sun on our skin.

New research measured the circulating vitamin D levels of the study subjects before starting a diet. The study participants then all followed a diet for 11 weeks that was individually calculated to have 750 calories less than their estimated daily needs.

The results showed that the higher the circulating vitamin D levels, the greater the weight loss. The authors say that for every increase of 1 ng/ml of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol— measurement of concentration, of a pre-form of vitamin D – study participants lost another half a pound by the end of the diet period. For every increase of 1 ng/ml of the active form of vitamin D, study participants lost another quarter of a pound by the end of the diet period.

In addition, higher levels of vitamin D were related to greater loss of abdominal fat.

The question is, why low vitamin D levels slow weight loss.

There are at least several possible explanations. For instance, are the actual levels of vitamin D not important? Instead are vitamin D levels an indicator of how much time is spent outside being active? Which would lead to increased weight loss.

Vitamin D has many important functions in the body, including functioning as a hormone. Recently, there has been a lot of evidence that several other hormones influence appetite, where fat is deposited and other aspects of eating and weight. It could be that vitamin D also plays a role in hormonal control of weight loss and gain.

If the second reason turns out to be correct, this provides another good reason for making sure that we have adequate vitamin D levels in our bodies, from foods, supplements or the sun.

photo credit: ODHD

[tags]vitamin D, weight loss, low vitamin D[/tags]