Insufficient Vitamin D Linked to Weight Gain

A new study links vitamin D “insufficiency” to added weight gain.   The study focused on older women, and found that four out of five (80 percent) had insufficient levels of vitamin D … a finding with serious implications for bone health.   The finding of a widespread lack of vitamin D was bad enough, but the researchers also found that women who lacked vitamin D gained more weight than those with blood levels deemed sufficient.   Dr. LeBlanc called that weight-gain finding unprecedented: “This is one of the first studies to show that women with low levels of vitamin D gain more weight, and although it was only two pounds, over time that can add up.” (KP 2012)   The study was conducted by researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Maryland.