Lack of vitamin D causes obesity

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, November 08, 2009
Insufficient vitamin D can stunt growth and foster obesity during puberty, according to a new study.

Even in sun-drenched California, scientists from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and University of Southern California found that vitamin D deficiency caused higher body mass and shorter stature in girls at the peak of their growing spurt.

While lack of vitamin D is common in adults and has been linked to osteoporosis, cancer and obesity, until this study, little was known about the consequences of insufficient vitamin D in young people.

The research team measured vitamin D in girls aged 16 to 22 using a simple blood test (25-hydroxy vitamin D). They also assessed body fat and height to determine how vitamin D deficiency could affect young women’s health.

“The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in young people living in a sun-rich area was surprising,” said study co-author, Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the MUHC.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=207337