Calcium and Vitamin D Important for Weight Management

According to a new study, calcium and vitamin D play a role in the deposition of visceral fat. Visceral or abdominal fat is adipose tissue that deposits around the organs within the abdomen and is associated with suboptimal cardiovascular health and blood sugar metabolism.

Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial over 16 weeks in which 171 subjects received either regular or light orange juice. The study authors gave the subjects either three, 240-mL glasses of orange juice (regular or light) fortified with 350 mg calcium and 100 IU vitamin D per serving or orange juice alone (regular or light) in the control group.

The researchers assessed the subjects for visceral and subcutaneous fat using computed tomography (CT) scans at the beginning of the study and again after the supplementation period.

In both the regular and light orange juice groups, the subjects who received the calcium and vitamin D supplementation experienced significantly greater reduction of visceral adipose tissue compared to the subjects in the control group.

The study authors concluded, “The findings suggest that calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation contributes to a beneficial reduction of visceral adipose tissue.”

Reference:

Rosenblum JL, Castro VM, Moore CE, Kaplan LM. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation is associated with decreased abdominal visceral adipose tissue in overweight and obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Dec 14. Published Online ahead of Print.