Sedentary, Overweight, Obese and Depressed Patients Should Check Vitamin D Levels
ABSTRACT: Vitamin deficiency is not a common problem in industrialized countries, but here in American, where people spend more time indoors, leading more sedentary lifestyles, getting optimal levels of vitamin D might be difficult.
Vitamin D the sunshine vitamin
If you spend most of your time indoors, don’t exercise or move around a lot, are sick or infirm, have recently recovered from an illness, have recently been hospitalized, are overweight or obese, then you might have vitamin D deficiency and not even realize it. It’s unusual in developed countries for people to be vitamin deficient when eating a proper diet, but vitamin D isn’t one of those vitamins that can be found easily in foods.
The best source for vitamin D comes from the sun, and people as described above will likely receive less sun exposure, thus resulting in vitamin D deficiency. Additionally, muscle and fat both store vitamin D, resulting in less available for the body. The more you weigh-whether it’s healthy muscle or not-so-healthy fat-the more likely you are to suffer from vitamin D deficiency.
Possible Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency
According to the National Library of Medicine, vitamin D deficiency can lead to a condition called rickets, particularly true for infants who are breastfed solely or who have darker skin and limited sun exposure.
Other symptoms of vitamin D deficiency for adults might include:
- Bone pain and tenderness
- Muscle cramps
- Increased bone fractures
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Poor illness recovery
- Increased risk or worsening of cardiovascular disorders
- Obesity / weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Tooth weakness/loss
- Decrease in bone density
Who is at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency?
Anyone who leads a sedentary lifestyle, that is, anyone who has limited physical activity, who is ill or bedridden or who has been in the hospital for any extended period. Those who stay mostly indoors, who sleep during the day and work at night, or who have limited exposure to sunlight due to health or climate reasons are also at risk of vitamin D deficiency. If you are obese, overweight or extremely muscular, you might be at risk of vitamin D deficiency, because vitamin D is stored in both muscle and fat, making it less available in the bloodstream for the body to use. Vegans, anyone who limits calcium intake or avoids dairy fortified products, infants who are solely breastfed, those with vitamin K deficiency, and people with dark skin might all also be at risk for vitamin D deficiency
How to Test for Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamnin D testing is a simple blood test and it can be performed with other regular and routine blood work at your annual physical or checkup with your doctor or healthcare professional. If you’re worried you might be deficient in vitamin D, you should schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider as soon as possible to have your levels checked before you consider sun exposure therapy or vitamin D supplementation.
It should only take a few days for the results of the blood test to come back with your levels, and then you and your doctor can talk about a course of action to help alleviate any vitamin D deficiency you might have.