Vitamin D supplements can promote weight loss in obese children

Katherine Rushlau 

Vitamin D supplements can promote weight loss and reduce the risk factors for future cardiac and metabolic disorders in overweight and obese children, according to research presented  at the 57th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology.

These findings indicate that simple supplementation with vitamin D may be part of an effective strategy to address childhood obesity and reduce the risk of serious health problems, like heart disease in adulthood.

Obesity in childhood and adolescence is a major health problem worldwide, leading to the development of costly and debilitating complications serious as heart disease and diabetes in later life. Although vitamin D deficiency is typically associated with impaired bone health in recent years it has been linked increasingly with increasing accumulation of body fat and obesity, and the precise nature of this relationship is currently being investigated by researchers. However, it has not yet investigated the effect of vitamin D supplementation on weight and health of obese children and adolescents.

In this study, Christos Giannios, MD, Evangelia Charmandari, MD, MSc, PhD, MRCP (UK), CCST (UK) and colleagues at the Medical School of Athens University and Children 's Hospital Aghia Sophia in Athens, they evaluated 232 obese children and adolescents over 12 months, with 117 randomized to receive vitamin D supplements, according to the Endocrine Society guidelines on the treatment and prevention of deficiency. Vitamin D levels, body fat and blood markers of liver function and heart health were evaluated at baseline and 12 months later. The study reported that children who received vitamin D supplements had a body mass index, body fat and cholesterol levels improved significantly lower after 12 months of supplementation.

"These findings suggest that simple supplementation with vitamin D can reduce the risk of overweight and obese children develop serious cardiac and metabolic complications in adult life," says Charmandari, principal investigator.

The team now plans to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the health of obese children and adolescents who are already unhealthy conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high cholesterol, all of which increase the risk of disease heart, diabetes and cerebrovascular accident.

Charmandari warns, though these initial findings indicate that vitamin D could be used in the treatment of obesity, there remains a lack of evidence on the safety and long-term effects of supplementation, especially if there is no deficiency of vitamin D.

"However, if your child is overweight or obese," he said, "I recommend that you consult your physician for advice and consider their levels of vitamin D are analyzed

Copyright © misteri1963 All rights reserved.You can copy and distribute this article as long as you do not modify it in any way, the content remains complete, credit is given to the author and this URL is included https://misteri1963.blogspot.com and the Copyright Notice