A recent study published by the journal Endocrine assessed the effectiveness of various doses of UVB exposure to determine the minimum requirement to significantly improve vitamin D status among obese individuals.

Over 2 billion (out of 7.5 billion) individuals are obese throughout the world. This issue contributes to the development of various chronic diseases and is a leading cause of disability and mortality globally. In an effort to protect the health and longevity of the public, researchers routinely investigate the role of nutritional interventions to treat obesity.

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among obese individuals, with a nearly 3.5-fold increased prevalence of deficiency compared to those who are a healthy weight. There are several proposed explanations for this, including altered metabolism, indoor lifestyle and increased vitamin D storage in fat tissue. In other words, vitamin D essentially becomes sequestered in the fat cells, preventing its release into the bloodstream when levels become low.