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

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

Comment by Vitamin D Life

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 Vitamin D Life

• 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

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