Vitamin D Deficiency and Metabolic Diseases

**177**

**Chapter 9**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

rough guide [1].

Vitamin D and Obesity

*Sabrina Ait Gacem and Moyad Jamal Shahwan*

**Keywords:** vitamin D, deficiency, supplements, obesity, health, BMI

body that can affect the health of an individual [1].

million deaths annually according to the WHO statistics [1].

Obesity is a very common issue worldwide, and it is one of the risk factors for mortality. Several studies were done to identify the causes of this issue and to investigate factors that can affect this condition. Vitamin D is claimed to have an impact not only for maintaining bone health but also for having an association between its deficiency and obesity as some studies found that the concentrations of this vitamin are low in obese individuals. The suggested mechanisms and a discussion of the latest findings as well as the possibility of integrating supplementation in the treatment of obesity are covered in this book chapter. It was concluded that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in many parts of the world and the supplements are an affordable option, but further studies are required to address different confounding factors that will result in clear data interpretation and will contribute to the future planning of health policies and guidelines used by healthcare professionals.

Obesity is one of the most commonly observed health issues and can be defined as the condition in which there is an abnormal or excess fat accumulation in the

A measure of the obesity and other body weight status is the body mass index (BMI) which is a tool that uses the weight and the height of an individual. The weight is divided by the square of the height. If the BMI is 30 or more, the individual will be considered obese. BMI provides a measure of obesity and overweight that is general for female and male adults from different age groups, but for children the age has to be taken into consideration. Due to its inconsistent representation and correspondence for the level of fat in various individuals, it should be used as a

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is known to be high especially in developed countries (high-income countries), but recently it was observed to increase even in middle- and low-income countries as well which is a serious issue because obesity is one of the main risk factors for several serious chronic diseases that are noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers causing an estimated 38

According to the Global Health Observatory (GHO), data from the WHO statistics of the prevalence of obesity among adults aged 18+ (1975–2016) represented 27.8% in the United Kingdom (UK) and 31.7% in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) among adults [1]. According to the National Health Survey, adult obesity in the UAE stands at 27.8% in 2019 [2]. Obesity is caused by several reasons, and one of them is
