Vitamin D for Obesity

The discovery that the vitamin D receptor is expressed in more than 30 tissues indicates that the physiologic functions of vitamin D are much broader than its well-known role in the regulation of calcium absorption and bone metabolism. There is evidence that vitamin D is involved in the pathogenesis of cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes. Recent epidemiological evidence points to a strong association between vitamin D insufficiency and insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, and type II diabetes. The investigators would like to examine the role of vitamin D in the development of insulin resistance in overweight children and adolescents, which represent a high risk population for cardiovascular and metabolic complications. The investigators propose a prospective randomized clinical trial of vitamin D supplementation in overweight, insulin resistant, vitamin D deficient children. The investigators objective is to assess if changes in insulin resistance, fasting lipid profiles, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers occur in these patients post treatment with vitamin D. Additionally, concomitant changes in calcium and bone metabolism after vitamin D treatment will be evaluated. This is because, contrary to adults, the optimal vitamin D concentrations that regulate calcium and bone metabolism have not been established in pediatrics.