Deficiency of this vitamin with a "prominent belly" can double the risk of death

Scientists have found that the combination of abdominal obesity and vitamin D deficiency in people over 50 increases the risk of death within the next six years by 123% compared to those who have neither condition. The study was published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (DOM).

The researchers followed 5,520 people over the age of 50 for six years. Abdominal obesity was determined by waist circumference — more than 102 cm in men and more than 88 cm in women, while vitamin D deficiency was defined as a level below 30 nmol/L.

Individually, each condition also increased the risk of death: abdominal obesity by 47%, and vitamin D deficiency by 91%. However, it was their combination that proved to be the most dangerous.

As the authors explain, abdominal fat "traps" vitamin D in fat cells, reducing its availability to organs. The vitamin deficiency, in turn, weakens the immune system and intensifies chronic inflammation — creating a vicious cycle in which both conditions exacerbate each other.

According to the lead researcher, Professor Tiago Silva Alexandre of the Department of Gerontology at the Federal University of São Carlos, chronic inflammation increases on its own with age, making this combination particularly risky for older adults.