Hypovitaminosis D and fat mass in healthy older people

Prospective studies have suggested that hypovitaminosis D can predict the onset of obesity, but they relied mainly on body mass index, which could be scarcely reliable in older people. We investigated whether baseline hypovitaminosis D could predict higher fat mass (FM) levels using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in a sample of 116 fit and healthy older subjects. Although no significant differences in FM estimates emerged between subjects with and without hypovitaminosis D at the baseline, abdominal FM was found significantly higher in the former group (with hypovitaminosis D at the baseline) than in the latter after 3 years of follow-up. Adjusted logistic regression analysis confirmed these findings: hypovitaminosis D coincided with an approximately sixfold higher risk of subjects having higher abdominal FM levels at the follow-up. In conclusion, hypovitaminosis D predicts higher abdominal FM levels in the elderly.