A meta-analysis of the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and obesity
Int J Clin Exp Med 2015;8(9):14977-14984 www.iicem.com /ISSN:1940-5901/IJCEM0011016
Yingshui Yao, Lijun Zhu, Lianping He, Ying Duan, Wei Liang, Zhonghua Nie, Yuelong Jin, Xiaolu Wu, Yun Fang
School of Public Health, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, Anhui, China
Received June 3, 2015; Accepted August 7, 2015; Epub September 15, 2015; Published September 30, 2015
Previous epidemiologic studies suggested that vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor of obesity. However, the result is still controversial. This meta-analysis aims to provide a comprehensive summary on the association between vitamin D deficiency and obesity. We systematically searched Pubmed database, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), for the literatures on the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and obesity published from 2010 to 2015. The effect sizes of overall odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using Stata 11.0. Heterogeneity was evaluated using random-effects model and forest plots. Fifteen studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis, which included 3867 subjects with obesity and 9342 health subjects. Meta-analysis results showed that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was difference between obesity group and control group, and the pooled OR (95% CI) was 3.43 (2.33-5.06).
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was associated with obesity in Asians and European-American, OR (95% CI) were 3.70 (1.98-6.90) and 3.09 (1.89-5.04), respectively. No publication bias was found in our study. vitamin D deficiency may be associated with obesity irrespective of areas.
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Note that definition of deficiency varied at lot between the studies
See also VitaminDWiki
- Overview Obesity and Vitamin D
- Obese need 2 - 3 X more vitamin D - clck on chart for details
The Meta-analysis of Obesity and Vitamin D
- Body weight not reduced by small doses of calcitriol – meta-analysis Sept 2024
- High-dose Vitamin D reduced inflammation and insulin resistance (obese children) - Dec 2023
- Vitamin D reduces BMI and waist circumference – umbrella meta-analysis – Sept 2022
- Less obese child if supplemented with Vitamin D as an infant– meta-analysis Feb 2021
- Obesity 1.5 X more likely if poor Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis Nov 2019
- BMI decreased by Vitamin D (none of the trials used enough D for long enough) – meta-analysis July 2019
- Vitamin D, by itself, does not decrease BMI – meta-analysis March 2018
- Obese are 3.4 X more likely to be Vitamin D deficient – meta-analysis Sept 2015
- Obesity causes 20 percent of all cancer, low vitamin D may be the connection – meta-analysis - Sept 2014
- Obese of all ages have lower levels of vitamin D – meta-analysis May 2015
- No weight loss when average over trials lasting 6 weeks and only 200 IU of vitamin D – meta-analysis July 2013
All items in categories Intervention AND Obesity
- Overweight needed more EPA (4 grams) to fight depression – RCT Aug 2022
- Response to Vitamin D varies with genes (3,000 IU, weight loss in this RCT) – March 2022
- Weight loss on low-calorie diet: 7 lbs more lost if got lots of Vitamin D – June 2021
- Overweight elderly respond well to 3600 IU Vitamin D daily for a year – RCT May 2021
- Little weight loss in obese children from very small amount of vitamin D (1200 IU) – RCT April 2020
- 20,000 IU of Vitamin D weekly gave many benefits – RCT Aug 2019
- 2.3 X more weight loss in those who had low vitamin D levels and took some – Dec 2019
- Obese lost 3X more weight with Vitamin D - July 2018
- Severely Obese not helped much by 50,000 IU of vitamin D weekly for 8 weeks – RCT June 2019
- Gut genes related to important disease changed in Obese with 2,000 IU for 12 weeks – May 2019
- Obese responded to weekly vitamin D better than non-obese – RCT March 2018
- Daily, monthly Vitamin D had similar great benefits, more than 6 months needed – RCT Dec 2018
- Obese lost more weight on diet if added 50,000 IU of vitamin D weekly – many RCTs
- Lost 19 lbs more if add vitamin D to calorie restriction and walking program– July 2018
- Half of obese black teens achieved at least 30 ng of Vitamin D with 5,000 IU daily – June 2018
- Response by obese to weekly 50,000 IU of Vitamin D – May 2018
- Severe Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease treated by Omega-3 – RCT April 2018
- Waist size reduced 3 cm by Vitamin D in those with Metabolic Syndrome – Jan 2017
- Less weight gain if add Vitamin D, even if have a high fat diet (in rats) – RCT Dec 2017
- NAFLD in children nicely treated by combination of Vitamin D and Omega-3 – RCT Dec 2016
- Increased Testosterone and Erectile function, decreased weight with Vitamin D – March 2017
- 5,000 IU daily or 50,000 IU Vitamin D weekly repleted many dark skinned adolescents – RCT Dec 2015
- Overweight and obese lost 12 lbs with vitamin D in 6 months– RCT May 2015
- 24 ng lower response to Vitamin D due to obesity, low initial Vitamin D, and genetics – RCT Feb 2015
- Diabetic hypertension reduced with Vitamin D and Calcium – RCT March 2015
- Dieters lost 5 more pounds if achieved more than 32 ng of vitamin D – RCT March 2014
- 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly increased levels by 52 ng normally, but only 28 ng if obese – Oct 2013
- 50,000 IU vitamin D 1-3 times per week helped obese patients in rehab. – May 2013
- Obesity not reduced with 7,000 IU vitamin D daily – April 2013
- Higher BMI decreased response to 700 IU vitamin D – RCT 2008
- Insulin sensitivity in obese adolescents greatly improved with 4000 IU of vitamin D - RCT April 2013
- 7000 IU vitamin D was not enough to reduce obese tissue – RCT Jan 2013
- 5700 IU vitamin D improved various growth factors in overweight people – Oct 2012