Exercise without Weight Loss Prevents Seasonal Decline in Vitamin D Metabolites: The VitaDEx Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Many adults become vitamin D deficient or insufficient during winter at northerly latitudes when cutaneous vitamin D synthesis does not occur. Vitamin D accumulates in adipose tissue and people with overweight or obesity are more likely to have low systemic vitamin D. This randomized controlled trial demonstrates that regular exercise completely maintains serum concentrations of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25(OH) ₂ D ₃ over winter and may ameliorate the decline in 25(OH)D status in overweight men and women, even without weight loss. The binding of 1,25(OH) ₂ D ₃ to the vitamin D receptor mediates the crucial role for vitamin D in the healthy function of multiple organ systems and vitamin D supplementation does not impact circulating 1,25(OH) ₂ D ₃ . Thus, the VitaDEx study provides causal evidence that exercise plays an important role in vitamin D metabolism that is distinct from the effects of oral supplementation.