Skip to main content

Vitamin D Supplements Could Help Lower Blood Pressure in Obese People

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 12, 2024.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 -- Vitamin D supplements might lower blood pressure in seniors who are obese, reducing their heart health risk, a new study says.

But taking more than the recommended daily dose will not provide additional health benefits, researchers report in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

“Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such older people, people with obesity and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said researcher Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon.

Studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes. However, there’s not solid evidence whether taking vitamin D supplements can help lower blood pressure.

The recommended daily dose of vitamin D is 600 IU, or about 15 micrograms, researchers said.

For the study, researchers tracked the health of 221 seniors with obesity who took either 600 IU or 3,750 IU of daily vitamin D supplements for a year.

The supplements did lower their blood pressure, results show, but higher doses did not provide additional benefits.

“High vitamin D doses compared to the Institutes of Medicine’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits,” El-Hajj Fuleihan said in a news release.

Sources

  • The Endocrine Society, news release, Nov. 12, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Shedding Pounds in Middle Age Could Add Years to Your Life, Study Finds

WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 — Losing just 6.5% of body weight in midlife may lower later risk of disease and premature death, new research shows. Researchers found that people...

Preschool BMI Can Predict Childhood Obesity Risk

WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 — Preschoolers who don’t naturally lose weight are more likely to develop full-fledged childhood obesity by age 9, a new study says. Most kids...

Weight-Loss Drugs May Lower Risk Of Obesity-Related Cancers

WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 — Popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound can help reduce a woman’s risk for as many as 14 cancers associated with obesity, a...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.