Ontology highlight
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.
SUBMITTER: Klinedinst BS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7501143 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Klinedinst Brandon S BS Meier Nathan F NF Larsen Brittany B Wang Yueying Y Yu Shan S Mochel Jonathan P JP Le Scott S Wolf Tovah T Pollpeter Amy A Pappas Colleen C Wang Qian Q Allenspach Karin K Wang Li L Russell Daniel D Bennett David A DA Willette Auriel A AA
Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 20200622 8
<h4>Objective</h4>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 ...[more]