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Obesity and hypovitaminosis D: causality or casualty?

International Journal of Obesity Supplements volume 9, pages 20–31 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Epidemiological studies reported that vitamin D deficiency represents an increasingly widespread phenomenon in various populations. Vitamin D deficiency is considered a clinical syndrome determined by low circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), which is the biologically-inactive intermediate and represents the predominant circulating form. Different mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain the association between hypovitaminosis D and obesity, including lower dietary intake of vitamin D, lesser skin exposure to sunlight, due to less outdoor physical activity, decreased intestinal absorption, impaired hydroxylation in adipose tissue and 25(OH)D accumulation in fat. However, several studies speculated that vitamin D deficiency itself could cause obesity or prevent weight loss. The fat-solubility of vitamin D leads to the hypothesis that a sequestration process occurs in body fat depots, resulting in a lower bioavailability in the obese state. After investigating the clinical aspects of vitamin D deficiency and the proposed mechanisms for low 25(OH)D in obesity, in this manuscript we discuss the possible role of vitamin D replacement treatment, with different formulations, to restore normal levels in individuals affected by obesity, and evaluate potential positive effects on obesity itself and its metabolic consequences. Food-based prevention strategies for enhancement of vitamin D status and, therefore, lowering skeletal and extra-skeletal diseases risk have been widely proposed in the past decades; however pharmacological supplementation, namely cholecalciferol and calcifediol, is required in the treatment of vitamin D insufficiency and its comorbidities. In individuals affected by obesity, high doses of vitamin D are required to normalize serum vitamin D levels, but the different liposolubility of different supplements should be taken into account. Although the results are inconsistent, some studies reported that vitamin D supplementation may have some beneficial effects in people with obesity.

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Acknowledgements

Obesity Programs of nutrition, Education, Research and Assessment (OPERA) group members served as collaborators and approved the final version of the manuscript: Annamaria Colao, Antonio Aversa, Barbara Altieri, Luigi Angrisani, Giuseppe Annunziata, Rocco Barazzoni, Luigi Barrea, Giuseppe Bellastella, Bernadette Biondi, Elena Cantone, Brunella Capaldo, Sara Cassarano, Rosario Cuomo, Luigi Di Luigi, Andrea Di Nisio, Carla Di Somma, Ludovico Docimo, Katherine Esposito, Carlo Foresta, Pietro Forestieri, Alessandra Gambineri, Francesco Garifalos, Cristiano Giardiello, Carla /Giordano, Francesco Giorgino, Dario Giugliano, Daniela Laudisio, Davide Lauro, Andrea Lenzi, Silvia Magno, Paolo Macchia, MariaIda Maiorino, Emilio Manno, Chiara Marocco, Paolo Marzullo, Chiara Mele, Davide Menafra, Silvia Migliaccio, Marcello Monda, Filomena Morisco, Fabrizio Muratori, Giovanna Muscogiuri, Mario Musella, Gerardo Nardone, Claudia Oriolo, Uberto Pagotto, Pasquale Perrone Filardi, Luigi Piazza, Rosario Pivonello, Barbara Polese, Paolo Pozzilli, Giulia Puliani, Stefano Radellini, Gabriele Riccardi, Domenico Salvatore, Ferruccio Santini, Giovanni Sarnelli, Lorenzo Scappaticcio, Silvia Savastano, Bruno Trimarco, Dario Tuccinardi, Paola Vairano, Nunzia Verde, Roberto Vettor.

Funding

This article is published as part of a supplement funded by Endocrinology Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Unit Endocrinology, University Foro Italico, Roma, Italy

    Silvia Migliaccio

  2. Department of Medicine, Operative Unit of Andrology and Medicine of Human Reproduction, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Andrea Di Nisio

  3. Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy

    Chiara Mele

  4. Division of General Medicine, S. Giuseppe Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy

    Chiara Mele

  5. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Dept of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic Sciences and Aging, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy

    Lorenzo Scappaticcio

  6. Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Endocrinology, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, Roma, Italy

    Silvia Savastano & Annamaria Colao

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  1. Silvia Migliaccio
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on behalf of Obesity Programs of nutrition, Education, Research and Assessment (OPERA) Group

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Correspondence to Silvia Migliaccio.

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SM received consulting fees from Aegerion, Shire, and Eli Lilly. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Migliaccio, S., Di Nisio, A., Mele, C. et al. Obesity and hypovitaminosis D: causality or casualty?. Int J Obes Supp 9, 20–31 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41367-019-0010-8

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