Vitamin D deficiency could lead to type 2 diabetes....

A vitamin D deficiency apparently determines whether we develop diabetes or not.

According to a new study by a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh,
vitamin D deficiency in obese children leads to diabetes, among other things.
In the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" it was written that both
obese Caucasian and African-American children who suffered from a vitamin D deficiency
tended to develop diabetes. However, Caucasian children tend to store body fat viscerally (i.e.
in the abdominal cavity), while African-American children tend to store body fat
subcutaneously (i.e. in the subcutaneous fatty tissue).
With visceral body fat, the probability of developing diabetes is much higher than
with subcutaneous body fat.

According to the researchers, diabetes has become increasingly common in recent years,
because of a vitamin D deficiency. This mainly affects the younger generation.

Silvia Arslanian, who led the study, said:
"Vitamin D deficiency is very common in American youth. There is also explicit
evidence that low vitamin D levels in adults play a major role in increasing
rates of type 2 diabetes."

The study examined 237 adolescents aged 8-18. After vitamin D levels
and body fat measurements were taken, it was found that
those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the highest body fat percentage.
However, Caucasian youth are much more at risk of developing diabetes as they store the
body fat viscerally, as previously mentioned.

Arslanian believes that if more children are screened for vitamin D deficiency,
it will be much easier to combat any diabetes that may develop.

Source:
- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism