Could a deficiency of this vitamin actually be causing obesity?

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which monitors the health and fitness of Americans, the number of obese children in 1965 between the ages of 6 to 11 was 4 percent. Between the ages of 12 to 19 it was 5 percent.

In 2008 that number had quad tripled in the 6 to 11 age brackets, and tripled in the 12 to 19 age bracket. In adults the number has skyrocketed to about 33 percent, or one in every three American adults is now considered obese. Over 72 million adults are obese in the United States.

The cost in healthcare of obesity is estimated to be between 98 Billion and 129 Billion. Staggering figures, almost breathtaking in both the numbers and the costs.

Why? What are the causes, and can anything change this.

Obesity is defined as a person that is 20 percent over their ideal weight, taking into account the height, age, sex, and build, or 30 pounds overweight. The lists of diseases that obesity causes is huge; ranging from coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, several types of cancer, strokes and infertility, just to name a few.

Causes:

There are several experts that will tell you that illness can cause weight gains such as hypothyroidism, Cushing disease and other neurological conditions including depression. There are also certain drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants that could be the cause.

They are correct, as there are two types of obesity, Type 1 and Type 2.

But the numbers from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey paint a much more defined picture suggesting that only one percent of obesity is caused by illness or drugs. That leaves the other 99 percent that just flat out eat too much and can not control themselves.

Or does it, and is there much more to what is actually causing obesity that the medical community again seems not accept or neglect almost entirely.

Types: There are three basic types of obesity.

Android:

The android form of obesity is often referred to as someone that is shaped like an apple. The back seems to be erect but the shoulders, face, arms, neck and chest, as well as the upper abdomen, looks bloated. The lower portions of the body, the hips, thighs, and legs are all quite normal. This form of obesity affects vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and the lungs.

This form of obesity also affects females on hormone therapy or for menstrual abnormalities, but remember the one percent ratio.

Gynoid:

The gynoid form of obesity is the lower potion of the body that has the bloating appearances. As a person ages, it will cause stooping from the pressure on the spine because of the weight in the hips and thighs. The vital organs affected are the kidneys, uterus, intestines and the bladder.

Herbalists will swear that the only remedy for this type of obesity is a myriad of herbal remedies, and they may have some merit, but remember the one percent ratio. The third type of obesity is the person that has their entire body affected. The fat tissues in the body affect all organs, and this type of obesity is extremely dangerous.

So let’s look at some other facts concerning the ninety-nine percent of people who seemingly cannot control their eating.

Vitamin D deficiency has long been believed to be caused by obesity, as it is a fat soluble vitamin and as such it is stored in the liver. Obesity of the extremities inhibits the body in releasing vitamin D, thus causing the deficiency.

Now wait a minute. If that is the case, that perhaps explains two thirds of the obese people, but what about the other third? Their obesity is in the upper portion of the body, correct?

So let’s look at the other side of the equation: obesity does not cause a Vitamin D deficiency, but rather a Vitamin D deficiency causes obesity.

Vitamin D is a precursor hormone, meaning that it is the essential building block of a very powerful steroid hormone in your body called calcitriol. This should not be confused with the synthetic form of a drug or supplement that goes by the same name. Calcitriol is a steroid hormone that has long been associated with its role in regulating body levels of calcium and phosphorus.

But it also has another role that is now extended far beyond that of mineral metabolism, as vitamin D has been recently found to be present in a wide variety of cells. There is mounting evidence that a central control mechanism for maintaining body weight is regulated by energy intake and energy expenditure through various passages in our systems that is regulated by Vitamin D.

Ask your self this basic question. Why is it that most everyone puts weight on during the winter months as compared to the summer months? Is it the lack of sunshine and vitamin D regulating your body cells that control weight? No, it must be all the exercise in the summer, and no one does any exercise during the winter?

It seems to be quite simple. If your body does not get vitamin D, it does not burn anywhere near the energy.

Your body can not create Vitamin D on its own; it must get it either through ultraviolet rays, or sunshine. You can also get it through the diet or by supplements. Vitamin D has also shown to lower leptin secretion. Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells and controls weight regulation.

Both obese and non-obese humans demonstrate a very strong correlation of the amount of serum leptin in relationship to the amount of body fat. Higher levels of leptin in the body produce fat, while lower levels helps to reduce fat.

In essence, leptin provides the body in helping to both control body temperature and expedite energy. It essentially signals the brain that the body’s fat cells are full.

There have also been numerous studies such as those documented in the November 4, 2008 edition of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, that found blood samples taken form obese children and obese women showed definite signs of a Vitamin D deficiency, where as those that were not considered obese had normal levels of Vitamin D.

There was no difference in height or body structure, other than the weight.

Ask yourself, is obesity in the 99 percent caused by over eating, or is there perhaps another real definitive cause.

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