Dec. 5, 2011 -- Obese children with lower vitamin D levels may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, a new study shows.

Along with the low vitamin D levels, the obese children also had higher levels of what’s called insulin resistance, meaning that they are no longer able to efficiently use insulin to convert sugars from foods into fuel for the cells. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body either does not produce enough insulin or the cells become insulin resistant.

Researchers measured vitamin D levels in obese and normal-weight children, finding obesity to be associated with decreased vitamin D and increased insulin resistance.

Similar studies suggest the same association in adults, but the newly published research is among the first to examine vitamin D levels and diabetes risk factors in kids.

The findings suggest, but do not prove, that low vitamin D levels contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, says Micah Olson, MD, who led the study as a clinical fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Olson says studies are under way examining whether vitamin D supplementation lowers type 2 diabetes risk in people at high risk for developing the disease.