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Low Vitamin D In Kids Tied To Diabetes Risk
Wed, 07 Dec 2011
A new study has revealed that low vitamin D levels in children may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found kids with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to be obese and have higher degrees of insulin resistance – both major risk factors of diabetes .

However, while the findings suggest a deficiency in the vitamin could trigger diabetes, the team admitted their study could not prove if a lack of the vitamin was directly responsible for the onset of the metabolic disease.

Dr Micah Olson, lead author of the study, said: "Although our study cannot prove causation, it does suggest that low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes."

"Future studies are needed to determine the clinical significance of lower vitamin D levels in obese children, the amount and duration of treatment necessary to replenish vitamin D levels in these children and whether treatment with vitamin D can improve primary clinical endpoints such as insulin resistance ."

Vitamin D is produced by the skin, but only when exposed to strong sunlight. It can also be derived from certain foods, such as oily fish, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals, so a lack of it is usually associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, i.e. lack of exercise and a poor diet .

This study was published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).
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