Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated with Different Types of Obesity in Black and White Children

What I find surprising is thespecific biological differences between white and blacks over vitamin Ddeficiencies.  It is not just adifference in the natural uptake.  Explainingthe difference from an adaption standpoint will take effort.

What once seemed simple, onceagain becomes complicated.

The big story from a publichealth perspective is that all diets need to be supplemented with at least twograms of vitamin D, and perhaps 10 to 20 grams of vitamin C.  At the same time, sugar needs to be largelywithdrawn from all processed food products and replaced with stevia.

All are indicated as sufficientto allow a person to reach old age while maintaining prime health.

Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated with Different Types of Obesity inBlack and White Children

Released: 4/26/2011 4:05 PM EDT 

Embargo expired: 4/27/2011 7:00 AM EDT

Source: EndocrineSociety

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/576102/?sc=dwhn

Newswise — Chevy Chase, MD— A recent study accepted for publication inThe Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism(JCEM) found that while black and white children with vitamin D deficiencyboth had higher fat levels, black children were more likely to have higherlevels of fat just under their skin and white children were more likely to havehigher levels of fat between their internal organs.

Studies in adults and children have shown a link between obesity andvitamin D deficiency. However, data characterizing the racial differences inthe relationship between obesity and vitamin D, particularly in fat tissuedistribution are limited. This study examined the racial differences in therelationship between vitamin D status, BMI, fat levels, fat distribution andlipid levels in healthy obese and non-obese 8-18 year old black and whitechildren.

“Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in American youth, and there is somesuggestion in adults that low levels of vitamin D may be playing a role in theincreasing rates of type 2 diabetes. It is possible the same may be true foryouth with type 2 diabetes,” said Silva Arslanian, MD, of the University of Pittsburghand lead author of the study. “Our study found that vitamin D was associatedwith higher fat levels and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), alsoknown as good cholesterol, in both black and white children.”

In this study, researchers measured vitamin D levels in 237 childrenand found the majority of the study participants were vitamin D deficient.Plasma vitamin D levels were associated inversely with BMI and fat levels andpositively with HDL cholesterol in all subjects. Visceral adipose tissue (fatbetween internal organs) was higher in vitamin D deficient whites andsubcutaneous adipose tissue (fat below the skin) was higher in vitamin Ddeficient blacks compared with their respective vitamin D non-deficientcounterparts.

“Besides therapeutic interventions to correct the high rates of vitaminD deficiency in youth, benefits of vitamin D optimization on fat levels, lipidprofile and risk of type 2 diabetes need to be explored,” said Arslanian.

Other researchers working on the study include: Kumaravel Rajakumar,Javier de las Heras and SoJung Lee of the University of Pittsburgh in Penn.;and Tai Chen and Michael Holick of Boston University in Mass.

The article, “Vitamin D status, adiposity and lipids in Black Americanand Caucasian children,” appears in the May 2011 issue of JCEM. 

Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest, largestand most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinicalpractice of endocrinology.

Today, The Endocrine Society’s membership consists of over 14,000scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interestsin endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our siteat www.endo-society.org.