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Vitamin D Helps Weight Loss

Both of these new studies show the importance of vitamin D for losing weight. In the first, scientists claimed people who were overweight had lower levels of vitamin D, which is created when skin is exposed to sunlight. The study found that low levels of the vitamin in blood interfered with the function of a hormone called leptin, which tells the brain when the stomach is full. Researchers at Aberdeen University found that obese people produced 10% less vitamin D than people of average weight. The study also found that excess body fat absorbs vitamin D, stopping it entering the bloodstream.¹ Because of this, cloudy British weather, which causes low vitamin D levels, can cause weight gain.

In the second study involving 60 overweight/obese women aged 20-35 years adhering to a low calorie diet, those with higher vitamin D levels lost more weight and fat. The authors of this study conclude, "The present results suggest that women with a better vitamin D status respond more positively to hypocaloric diets and lose more body fat."²

References

¹See Mail Online article Poor weather to blame for Britain's obesity epidemic, scientists say.

²"Preliminary data about the influence of vitamin D status on the loss of body fat in young overweight/obese women following two types of hypocaloric diet," Ortega RM, Aparicio A, et al, Br J Nutr, 2008; 100(2): 269-72.