You Are Vitamin D Deficient When You Feel These Symptoms In Your Belly

Deficiency in vitamin D can develop if a person is not getting enough sunlight. People living in many parts of Europe, in the UK and the US, can get all the vitamin D their bodies require beginning late March to September’s end.

During winter, however, there is a need to get other sources of vitamin D because of the lack of sunlight. One symptom of vitamin D deficiency is the accumulation of belly fat.

Importance of Vitamin D

One of the important roles of vitamin D is helping maintain normal levels of phosphorus and calcium in the blood. It helps the body absorb calcium, which is then used to create and preserve strong bones.

Since vitamin D, according to researchers, seem to play various roles in many conditions, finding a solution to the deficiency would help a lot of people. To find out if someone is vitamin D deficient, you might want to look for changes in the belly.

The Belly Clue

Health experts and researchers alike believe obesity is linked to reduced levels of vitamin D. A team of scientific researchers from the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and the VU University Medical Centre studied the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and obesity. The team, led by Rachida Rafiq, presented their research findings at the annual meeting of the European Society of Endocrinology in Barcelona.

Surprising Findings

The goal of Rafiq and her team was to know whether the location and type of fat somehow play roles when it comes to vitamin D deficiency. The research team checked data provided by the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, which included information on thousands of men and women 40-65 years old.

During their research, data were adjusted for a variety of variables, which include smoking, education level, ethnicity, alcohol, physical activity levels, and chronic disease. The research team found that in women, both the total and abdominal fat is linked to lower vitamin D levels. They also found that the one with the biggest impact is abdominal fat.

The solid link between lower levels of vitamin D and growing amounts of abdominal fat points to the fact that those with bigger waistlines are at risk of being deficient. Rafiq said that those with huge bellies should have their vitamin D levels closely examined.