Vitamin D supplementation in obese Sri Lankan children: a randomized controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

High-dose vitamin D2 appeared to provide the most benefit, with the authors concluding that 50,000 IU weekly improved insulin function, liver-related markers, and body composition more than the lower-dose regimen. In the 50,000 IU weekly arm, vitamin D rose from 14.92 (3.04) to 18.24 (5.77), ALT fell from 39.22 (51.37) to 26.94 (14.27), PTH fell from 37.24 (18.13) to 29.23 (15.29), and percentage fat mass fell from 41.89 (4.07) to 39.76 (5.43) over 6 months. In the 2,500 IU weekly arm, vitamin D changed only slightly from 14.92 (3.92) to 15.26 (3.675), with smaller improvements in ALT, fat…

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial in obese, vitamin D-deficient Sri Lankan children aged 5-15 years attending the obesity clinic at Lady Ridgway Hospital in Colombo, enrolled from October 2015 to February 2017.

Intervention

Oral vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) dissolved in milk was administered weekly for 24 weeks.

Key limitation

Small single-center trial with short 24-week follow-up, which limits generalizability and the ability to assess longer-term effects.

View full study detailsView sourceOpen PDF

Original abstract