Overweight and vitamin D deficient children are more at Diabetic Risk
According to The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism vitamin D deficiency is closely related in developing the insulin resistance condition in the overweight and obese children. Later on, these children develop full-blown diabetes after reaching to adulthood.
Researches done in the field of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism have revealed that overweight and vitamin D deficient children are more likely to get diabetes than children with normal body weight are. Excess body weight, as well as vitamin D deficiency, may be an invitation to diabetes in early adult hood. If the children are overweight then they need a larger amount of Vitamin D, or they might develop a condition of resistance to insulin, a condition that is called diabetes.Lifestyle change can reduce the diabetes risk
Most children due to lack of proper lifestyles suffer from inadequate levels of Vitamin D. These children do not indulge in the adequate amount of physical activity that is necessary for proper burning of the calories. Over that, they also have a defective eating pattern due to which fat is deposited in their bodies. Since they do not indulge in physical activity, they do not burn fat and are not being exposed to the sun due to which they do not produce vitamin D. This increases the diabetes risk early in life. Sun is the best source of Vitamin D and if children play for 30-45 minutes in the sunlight they will get the sufficient amount of vitamin D. Various researches to study the relation of Diabetes and Vitamin D
To examine the trend of diabetes in obese children, deficient in Vitamin D, Doctor Micah Olson set up an experiment over 498 in both obese and normal children. He and his team from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre have tried to investigate and formulate a relationship between abnormal glucose metabolism and blood pressure. In close connection, they also noted their vitamin D levels as well as Serum insulin in connection to their body mass index.
They also noted down underlying facts regarding the daily eating and drinking habits. The eating habits include the eating of fruits and vegetables and the drinking habits include the intake of soda, juices, milk and water. They were also enquired of whether they skipped breakfast.
Conclusions made by the studies
Studying all of these above factors they concluded that almost 92% of the obese children did not have the required amount of vitamin D in their body and were classified as deficient. Fifty per cent of the participants had a deficiency of Vitamin D and their level of Vitamin D was below 20ng/mL. Doctor Olson concluded that poor eating habits as well as the trend of missing out breakfasts along with increased consumption of soda has led to the decreased amount of Vitamin D in obese children.
He also went on to conclude that those who have low levels of Vitamin D in the blood serum is seen to be far more resistant to insulin than children with normal body weight but lower Vitamin D levels. This is the inference to the development to type 2 Diabetes. This condition may be called rightly as prediabetic.Diabetes and lower level of vitamin D
The condition of insulin resistance, called in medical terms as diabetes is increasing in an alarming rate among children and young adults. The research points to one derivation -lower levels of Vitamin D and excess body weight may give rise to diabetes symptoms. He suggests mandatory test of Vitamin D in the blood. The required amount of Vitamin D is to be maintained between 50ng/ml and 70ng/ml.
Further researches are needed for knowing the clinical significance of reduced Vitamin D in obese children, the duration, and amount of medication they need for replenishing the Vitamin D levels and whether, after treatment of Vitamin D, the insulin resistance problem is decreased or not.
Organizations such as, Diabetes UK is funding researches at the University of Glasgow to establish the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and type 2 diabetes.
Keeping a healthy diet and regular exercise like playing are still the best ways for keeping the risk of type 2 diabetes away.