Recent Study Released Potentially Relates Vitamin D and Weight Gain

A study that involved 4,600 women all 65 years of age or older was conducted by Kaiser Permanente and published in the Journal of Women's Health, claims that there may be a link between vitamin D and weight gain. This study was conducted over a 4.5 year period and showed that women with low levels of vitamin D in their blood gained around two pounds more than those maintained normal levels of vitamin D in their blood.

We know that vitamin D is found naturally in sunlight and added to fortified foods like cereal and milk. The investigators of this study claim that a contributing factor to deficient levels of vitamin D in older women is the lack of outdoor activity in addition to a poor diet (which seems like a combination for weight gain in any age group or gender).

At the conclusion of the study, 60% of the women maintained a stable weight, 27% lost more than 5% of their body weight (likely due to the natural weight loss associated with aging), and 12% of the women gained more than 5% of their body weight. These statistics are quite interesting, considering that 87% of the women either kept about the same weight or lost it, yet it claims there is a correlation between low vitamin D levels and weight gain... very interesting.

It would seem that this study does not prove that older women with low levels of vitamin D experience weight gain but that low levels of physical activity coupled with poor eating habits leads to weight gain. Wow, imagine that! There are no quick fixes for healthy living, it must be proactively pursued. Establishing healthy eating habits in addition to a workout plan are paramount to good health... at any age.

Original Article: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/25/vitamin-d-deficiency-may-cause-weight-gain/