Belly Fat and Vitamin Deficiency: A Dangerous Duo That Doubles Your Risk of Death in the Next Ten Years

CARRYING extra flab around your tummy coupled with a common vitamin deficiency could double your risk of death in the next decade, scientists say.

on its own can up someone’s risk of dying young, as it’s linked to conditions like , and even some cancers.

Meanwhile, being low on vitamin D – which protects the immune system and helps build strong bones – can carry negative consequences too.

But the two combined appear to create a vicious cycle, Brazilian scientists found.

People with abdominal who also had a vitamin D deficiency had a 123 per cent higher risk of death over a six- year period.

Tiago Silva Alexandre, a professor in the Department of Gerontology at the Federal University of São Carlos in , who led the study, said: “Abdominal obesity is a well-known risk factor because it’s associated with inflammation and metabolic problems.

“Vitamin D, on the other hand, is a hormone that acts on various organs, and its deficiency impairs several bodily functions.

“When these two conditions occur together, one amplifies the effects of the other, further increasing the risk of death.

“For that reason, monitoring vitamin D levels and treating excess abdominal fat are essential measures to prevent premature death, especially after age 50.”

The potentially dangerous health combo was identified in a study of more than 5,500 adults aged over 50, carried out in collaboration with researchers from (UCL).

Participants were enrolled in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Researchers followed 5,520 people for six years, publishing their results the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

For men, abdominal obesity was defined as measuring more than 102cm around the waist. For women, this was 88cm.

Meanwhile, people were deemed vitamin D deficient if they had less than 30 nmol/L of it in their blood.

It’s very common to be low in the vitamin, especially in the , as our bodies rely on sunlight exposure to make it but the sun’s rays are too weak in the colder months.

That’s why people are advised to take a daily vitamin D supplement between October and March.

The findings showed that having a vitamin D deficiency was linked to a greater risk of death on its own than a big belly.

People with abdominal obesity alone had a 47 per cent higher risk of death, while vitamin D deficiency by itself was associated 91 per cent increase in risk.

But when both conditions were combined, the risk of death more than doubled.

Prof Alexandre said both reinforce each other in a vicious cycle.

Belly fat can reduce the amount of vitamin D available in the bloodstream by storing it in fat cells.

“This means that although the body may have the vitamin stored in fat, it isn’t freely available in the blood to perform vital functions in other organs and systems,” he said.

Obesity can also mess with the way the body processes vitamin D, further hampering its circulation in the bloodstream.

Meanwhile, low vitamin D may worsen inflammation and weaken the immune system.

“Abdominal obesity reduces circulating vitamin D, and that deficiency impairs the immune system, exacerbating the chronic inflammation caused by excess fat and drastically increasing the risk of mortality,” Prof Alexandre said.

This combination can wreak havoc later in life, as the body enters a state of constant low-grade inflammation as it ages.

“Under normal conditions, vitamin D acts as a regulator of the immune system, preventing inflammation from getting out of control,” Prof Alexander added.

“When vitamin D levels are low and there’s excess abdominal fat, an unfavourable systemic environment develops that accelerates cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as muscle loss.”

It follows previous studies by the same group of the “cascade” effect low vitamin D can have on health, leading to loss of strength and a higher risk of cognitive decline, often an early marker of .

“Vitamin D plays a role in regulating blood pressure, heart rate, the central nervous system, the immune system, and the endocrine system,” the researcher explains.

“Therefore, when its levels are low, several essential bodily functions are compromised.”

It comes after research showed that many Brits .

Meanwhile, a new study found that a beer belly or flabby tummy is – and could be a more reliable warning than your weight.