Determination of vitamin D and calcium levels of individuals with different body mass index

This study was carried out with the participation of 120 individuals between the ages of 18 to 63 having various body mass index groupes admitted to the Endocrinology Department of the Başkent University Ankara Hospital?s Ümitköy polyclinic from June to November 2012, who were healthy and thus did not have any health problems at the time. People who did not use any kind of medicines, vitamins or minerals were not included in this study. Pregnant or lactating women as well as people with a pre-diagnosed diseases or people who were diagnosed during the study to have a disease were not included in this study. The goal of this study is to assess the effects of obesity and overweight on vitamin D and serum calcium levels in individuals with various body mass index groupes. BMI groupes were determined according to the criteria set forth by the World Health Organization. A survey was conducted in order to determine the general characteristics, eating habits and physical activity and nutritional status of the participants. Daily intake of energy and micro-nutrient elements were recorded by 24-hour food recall forms throughout three days and the results derived were evaluated by using the BEBIS application software. The individuals were evaluated by dividing them into three groups, namely normal weight, overweight and obese based on their body mass index, each having equal number of male or females. Among the participants of this study, serum calcium level was found to be average 9,48±0.4 mg/dL and vitamin D was found to be average 23,9±9,7 µg/dL in individuals with normal weight, whereas serum calcium level was found to be average 9,4±0.4 mg/dL and vitamin D was found to be average 23,5±9,4 µg/dL in individuals with overweight, and serum calcium level was found to be average 9,3±0.3 mg/dL and vitamin D was found to be average 24,3±9,1 µg/dL in obese individuals. A statistically significant difference was found between the groups participating in the study in terms of the levels of their waist circumference, hip circumference, neck circumference, body fat mass, and body fat percentage. A statistically significant increase was found in the measurements of waist circumference, hip circumference, neck circumference, body fat mass, and body fat percentage ranging from normal weight to obesity (p<0,001). When we grouped the participants of this study as BMI<25.00 and BMI ?25.00, we found a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of their pre-prandial blood glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride, insulin, HbA1c and serum calcium levels (p<0.05)(p<0.001). No statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of vitamin D and PTH (p>0.05). As a result of this study, it was determined that serum calcium levels of obese individuals are lower than the individuals with normal weight. A parallel and linear relationship was found between insulin and HbA1c with an increase in BMI.