Response to Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Obese and Non-Obese Caucasian Adolescents

• Published in: Hormone research in paediatrics Vol. 78; no. 4; pp. 226 - 231
• Main Authors: Aguirre Castaneda, Roxana, Nader, Nicole, Weaver, Amy, Singh, Ravinder, Kumar, Seema
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.11.2012
• Subjects: Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Child; Cholecalciferol - administration & dosage; Cholecalciferol - pharmacology; Dietary Supplements; European Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Humans; Ideal Body Weight - physiology; Male; Medication Adherence - statistics & numerical data; Obesity - complications; Obesity - drug therapy; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - ethnology; Original Paper; Prevalence; Seasons; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - drug therapy; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Vitamin D Deficiency - ethnology; Vitamin D3; Obese adolescents; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D
• ISSN: 1663-2818; 1663-2826
• DOI: 10.1159/000343446

Background/Aims: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in obese children, and obese children tend to respond poorly to vitamin D supplementation. The objective of the study was to compare the response to vitamin D 3 supplementation (2,000 IU once daily for 12 weeks) between obese and non-obese Caucasian adolescents. Methods: The study design was open label non-randomized. It was carried out at a single center. Eighteen obese adolescents (aged 12–18 years) and the same number of age-, gender- and season-matched non-obese adolescents received vitamin D 3 (2,000 IU/day) orally for 12 weeks. Total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphorus were measured at baseline and at the end of the 12-week period. Results: The mean baseline 25(OH)D level was higher in the non-obese compared to the obese subjects (mean 28.9 vs. 25.2 ng/ml; p = 0.029). The increment in 25(OH)D levels following vitamin D supplementation was significantly lower in the obese adolescents (mean change 5.8 vs. 9.8 ng/ml; p = 0.019). Conclusions: Higher doses of vitamin D are required to treat vitamin D deficiency in obese adolescents compared to their non-obese peers.