| Title: | Walking in the Light: How History of Physical Activity, Sunlight, and Vitamin D Account for Body Fat-A UK Biobank Study |
| Journal: | Obesity |
| Published: | 22 Jun 2020 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32573118/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22852 |
| URL: | https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc7501143?pdf=render |
Publication 5997
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and obesity drives the need for successful strategies that elevate vitamin D levels, prevent adipogenesis, and stimulate lipolysis. This study provides a theoretical model to evaluate how physical activity (PA) and sunlight exposure influence serum vitamin D levels and regional adiposity. This study hypothesized a posteriori that sunlight is associated with undifferentiated visceral adiposity by increasing the ratio of brown to white adipose tissue. METHODS: Using 10-year longitudinal data, accelerometry, a sun-exposure questionnaire, and regional adiposity quantified by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry imaging, a structural-equation mediation model of growth curves was constructed with a data-driven methodology. RESULTS: Sunlight and PA conjointly increased serum vitamin D. Changes in vitamin D levels partially mediated how sunlight and PA impacted adiposity in visceral and subcutaneous regions within a subjective PA model. In an objective PA model, vitamin D was a mediator for subcutaneous regions only. Interestingly, sunlight was associated with less adiposity in subcutaneous regions but greater adiposity in visceral regions. CONCLUSIONS: Sunlight and PA may increase vitamin D levels. For the first time, this study characterizes a positive association between sunlight and visceral adiposity. Further investigation and experimentation are necessary to clarify the physiological role of sunlight exposure on adipose tissue.16 Authors
- Brandon S. Klinedinst
- Nathan F. Meier
- Brittany Larsen
- Yueying Wang
- Shan Yu
- Jonathan P. Mochel
- Scott Le
- Tovah Wolf
- Amy Pollpeter
- Colleen Pappas
- Qian Wang
- Karin Allenspach
- Li Wang
- Daniel Russell
- David A. Bennett
- Auriel A. Willette
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