Can Vitamin D Be Key to Preventing Diabetes in the Obese?

Obesity has become one of the most urgent health issues of the modern age with children and young people at increasing risk of being overweight and suffering related health conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Much time is being devoted to research the disease and one of the latest studies reveals that vitamin D could help control the blood sugar levels of young people, reducing their risk of contracting diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition in which either the body cannot produce enough insulin to function properly or the cells don’t react to the insulin the body does produce. The outcome is high blood sugar levels with the individual then being at risk of contracting other life-limiting or life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

The latest research, by a team from the University of Missouri, has revealed that giving obese children and teenagers vitamin D supplements is almost as effective as prescribing medication to control blood sugar levels. The study involved 35 pre-diabetic children and adolescents who were clinically obese and whose levels of vitamin D were considered insufficient or deficient. Half of the children were prescribed a high-dose vitamin D supplement and the other half a placebo.

Over the six months of the study, the participants’ insulin levels fell, although the participants’ body weight, diet and levels of physical activity – all associated with lower insulin levels – did not change over the course of the study.

Vitamin D is the mineral often referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” because it is most effective when it enters the body through our skin. The Missouri study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that checking the vitamin D levels of obese patients and adding supplements to their diet when necessary could help prevent them developing diabetes.