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Vitamin D deficiency and calcium intake in reference to increased body mass index in children and adolescents

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Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to several chronic diseases in adults. Studies focusing on children and adolescents, however, are limited. In this randomized cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with childhood obesity and dietary calcium intake among a population of healthy urban Saudi children and adolescents. To achieve this, 331 randomly selected Saudi children (53.8% females and 46.2% males) aged 6–17 years were included. Demographic, medical, and dietary information were collected; anthropometrics were measured. Levels of serum fasting glucose, lipid profile, 25(OH) D, and for albumin corrected calcium were analyzed. Vitamin D deficiency was noted in all subjects, with girls having significantly lower vitamin D levels than boys. Mean calcium intake was found to be 60% of the required dietary allowance (RDA), while the mean vitamin D intake was 23% of RDA. Vitamin D status and calcium intake were comparable in both normal and overweight/obese children and adolescents. Vitamin D status was highest among children who had calcium intake >800 mg/day. In adolescents there was insignificant but decreasing trend in BMI, which was observed to be highest among those whose calcium intake was <250 mg/day and lowest among those taking >800 mg/day. Conclusion: results from this study suggest the importance of vitamin D fortification and increased dietary calcium in the Saudi diet to meet RDA requirements and avoid onset of vitamin D deficiency-related diseases in Saudi children and adolescents.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Mr. Benjamin Vinodson for the statistical analyses of the data. Many thanks to Prince Mutaib Chair for Osteoporosis for the funding of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, King Saud University Women’s Section, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Sara Al-Musharaf

  2. Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Abdulaziz Al-Othman, Nasser M. Al-Daghri, Deqa S. Yusuf, Khalid M. Alkharfy, Yousef Al-Saleh, Omar S. Al-Attas, Majed S. Alokail, Sobhy Yakout & Shaun Sabico

  3. College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Abdulaziz Al-Othman

  4. Biomarkers Research Program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box, 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Nasser M. Al-Daghri, Soundararajan Krishnaswamy, Omar S. Al-Attas, Majed S. Alokail, Sobhy Yakout, Shaun Sabico & George P. Chrousos

  5. Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Nasser M. Al-Daghri, Omar S. Al-Attas & Majed S. Alokail

  6. Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Khalid M. Alkharfy

  7. College of Medicine, King Saud University of Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Yousef Al-Saleh

  8. King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Osama Moharram

  9. First Department of Pediatrics, Athens University Medical School, Athens, 11527, Greece

    George P. Chrousos

Authors
  1. Sara Al-Musharaf
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  2. Abdulaziz Al-Othman
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  3. Nasser M. Al-Daghri
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  4. Soundararajan Krishnaswamy
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  5. Deqa S. Yusuf
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  6. Khalid M. Alkharfy
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  7. Yousef Al-Saleh
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  8. Omar S. Al-Attas
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  9. Majed S. Alokail
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  10. Osama Moharram
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  11. Sobhy Yakout
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  12. Shaun Sabico
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  13. George P. Chrousos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nasser M. Al-Daghri.

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Al-Musharaf, S., Al-Othman, A., Al-Daghri, N.M. et al. Vitamin D deficiency and calcium intake in reference to increased body mass index in children and adolescents. Eur J Pediatr 171, 1081–1086 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1686-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1686-8

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