Vitamin D Deficiency Tied to Diabetes in Obese Children

A recent article published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism demonstrated that obese children are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D and that low vitamin D levels were associated with insulin resistance, a classic physiological symptom of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers measured serum vitamin D levels in 411 obese children, ages 6 through 16 years, and 87 non-overweight children.  Fifty percent of the obese children and 22% of the healthy-weight children had vitamin D levels that were considered insufficient.  Of the obese children, 33% reported routinely skipping breakfast, which is a strong predictor of vitamin D deficiency.  The authors reported that "the two strongest predictors of decreased vitamin D levels were skipping breakfast and soda intake."
They also reported that "obese children with lower vitamin D levels had higher degrees of insulin resistance" and "low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
This study demonstrates why it is important for children NOT to skip breakfast and why it is important to reduce or eliminate soda intake.
As a side note, obese children in this study had a body mass index above the 95th percentile for age and sex, which now includes approximately 19% of US children aged 6 through 19 years.