Vitamin D Deficiency is a Surrogate Marker for Visceral Fat Content, Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, and Future Metabolic Complications

Worldwide, epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), metabolic syndrome, and vitamin D deficiency have emerged during the past three decades. These are in part due to changing of behavior and; poverty and the increased consumption of poorquality, caloric-dense, cheap food; sedentary lifestyles; and less exposure to sunlight. Thus, these four diseases have some common origins. This article highlights the importance of serum vitamin D levels, the common link, in diagnosis and management of these four common disorders. Making a right diagnosis early would allow targeted, cost-effective interventions to reverse abnormalities and prevent the development of major complications that require expensive interventions later. Two such distinctive markers that need to be identified are visceral obesity and vitamin D deficiency. Such identification can be achieved simply by measuring standardized abdominal girth using a tape measure and serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels. These two surrogate markers are inversely correlated but not mutually exclusive. Thus, they can be used as clinically useful practical guidance, not only for screening but also for follow-up progress and effective management of the aforementioned disorders. The combination of having a higher waist circumference and lower serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels is an effective clinical tool for identifying those who are at a higher risk for the development of future metabolic complications.