50,000 IU vitamin D weekly increased levels by 52 ng normally, but only 28 ng if obese – Oct 2013

Serum 25(OH)D and Lipid Levels in Chinese Obese and Normal Weight Males before and after Oral Vitamin D Supplementation.

Biomed Environ Sci. 2013 Oct;26(10):801-7. doi: 10.3967/bes2013.003.
Zhou JC, Zhu YM, Guo P, Chen Z, Xie FZ, Liu XL, He S.
Molecular Biology Laboratory, Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control, Shenzhen 518020, Guangdong, China.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of oral vitamin D (VD) supplementation on VD status and serum lipid in Chinese obese and healthy normal-weight men.

METHODS: Twenty-one obese men with their body mass index (BMI)>28 kg/m(2) served as an obese group and 22 healthy normal-weight men with their BMI<24 kg/m(2) served as a control group in this study. After they were given 50 000 IU of oral VD, once a week for 8 weeks, the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration was measured with an enzyme-immunoassay kit.

RESULTS: After oral VD supplementation, the serum 25(OH)D concentration significantly increased from 46.1±9.1 nmol/L to 116.7±20.3 nmol/L in the obese subjects (P<0.01) and from 52.8±17.8 nmol/L to 181.3±30.2 nmol/L in the control ones (P=0.13). The serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was reduced within the normal reference range in the obese group. However, no significant change was observed in the level of other serum lipids (triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) in either of the two groups.

CONCLUSION: The effect of high-dose oral VD supplementation is weaker on VD status in the obese group than in the control group.
High-dose oral VD supplementation has no side effect on serum lipid level in obese and control groups.

Copyright © 2013 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.
PMID: 24215874

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Comment by VitaminDWiki
8 weeks is not enough time for the blood level to stabilize at a new level, a study such as this should have lasted at least 12 weeks.

See also VitaminDWiki

• Obese need 2.5 IU of vitamin D per kg to increase 1 ng (about 3.4 X more) – RCT Sept 2013
• 50,000 IU vitamin D 1-3 times per week helped obese patients in rehab. – May 2013
• Obese have 50 percent less of two enzymes in fatty tissue to process vitamin D – May 2013
• Overview Obesity and Vitamin D contains the following summary
  *FACT: People who are obese have less vitamin D in their blood
• FACT: Obese need a higher dose of vitamin D to get to the same level of vit D
• FACT: When obese people lose weight the vitamin D level in their blood increases
• FACT: Adding Calcium, perhaps in the form of fortified milk, often reduces weight
• FACT: 168 trials for vitamin D intervention of obesity as of Dec 2021
• FACT: Less weight gain by senior women with > 30 ng of vitamin D
• FACT: Dieters lost additional 5 lbs if vitamin D supplementation got them above 32 ng - RCT
• FACT: Obese lost 3X more weight by adding $10 of Vitamin D
• FACT: Those with darker skins were more likely to be obese Sept 2014
• OBSERVATION: Low Vitamin D while pregnancy ==> more obese child and adult
• OBSERVATION: Many mammals had evolved to add fat and vitamin D in the autumn
  • and lose both in the Spring - unfortunately humans have forgotten to lose the fat in the Spring
• SPECULATION: Low vitamin D might be one of the causes of obesity – several studies
• SUGGESTION: Probably need more than 4,000 IU to lose weight if very low on vitamin D due to
    risk factors such as overweight, age, dark skin, live far from equator,shut-in, etc.
• Obesity category has 441 items

See also: Weight loss and Vitamin D - many studies   Child Obesity and Vitamin D - many studies   Obesity, Virus, and Vitamin D - many studies
Obese need more Vitamin D

• Normal weight     Obese     (50 ng = 125 nanomole)

Click here for 2014 study