“We dedicate this work to people who seek, through aesthetics, to improve their mental and social health.”
The dedication of a course completion paper (TCC) always goes beyond a topic; it fits a purpose. In 2019, Bianca Menezes Torres specialized in Aesthetic Biomedicine and Marcela Santafé Oliveira de Souza in Aesthetic Nursing, and together they produced their final study on “Influence of Vitamin D Levels on Body Adiposity”.
This topic offers a deep look at the importance of Vitamin D for the human body.
“Vitamin D is a vitamin obtained both from food and from endogenous metabolism after sun exposure, going through several stages of metabolism and having great importance in the regulation of ions, such as calcium; however, its actions go far beyond bone, and it is also present in adipose tissue after being retained by adipocytes,” they present.
Besides being of the utmost importance for human existence, Vitamin D can also contribute to body fat treatments, boosting the patient's self-esteem and improving their quality of life. Learn about the subject addressed in the TCC by these Aesthetics specialists in this Academic Highlight.
Vitamin D and Obesity
As mentioned above, Vitamin D can be present in various foods, but we cannot forget that the main source of this nutrient is the sun.
“Among its functions, the regulation of metabolism and bone mineralization stand out above all, but other functions have been increasingly elucidated, such as increasing calcium absorption, participation in the immune, cardiovascular and reproductive systems, as well as action on various organs and tissues, especially adipose tissue,” they explain.
However, a deficiency of this vitamin in the human body has been identified as a serious public health problem, due to its relationship with several diseases and metabolic disorders. In the TCC, the Aesthetics specialists point out that, according to Pereira-Santos (2015), obesity is triggered by decreased serum vitamin D.
“Like vitamin D deficiency, obesity and body fat accumulation have become a public health problem, since increased fat leads to several metabolic problems and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease,” they explain.
For this reason, Vitamin D has been gaining prominence and standing out more and more as one of the main ways to help in the treatment of people diagnosed as overweight. In addition, treatment can prevent or reduce the impacts and pathologies related to obesity, since obese individuals have lower levels of this vitamin (DING et al., 2010).
Impact of Vitamin D on Body Fat Treatments
To better understand how vitamin D acts in the body, it is necessary to understand adipose tissue.
“For a long time, adipose tissue was considered only an energy reservoir and a structure for protection and support. Over the years and with new research, it came to be recognized as an organ that performs several important metabolic functions,” she explains.
The main cells of adipose tissue are called adipocytes, responsible for storing lipids, which originate in the mesoderm with connective tissue characteristics. Depending on how these cells are distributed throughout the body, they give rise to different characteristics of localized fat.
This is where vitamin D comes into action. “Studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is one of the triggering factors of increased body fat, in which there is an increase in parathyroid hormone levels and, consequently, a greater influx of calcium into fat cells,” they report in the study.
With this, Drs. Bianca and Marcela, backed by the ever-growing demand for body treatments for localized fat, state that the use of Vitamin D can be a great ally in these procedures. Including in obesity treatments, enhancing the results of existing protocols.
“It is clear how vitamin D is negatively affected in obese individuals, increasing cardiovascular risks, and this is a factor that should lead to more studies on this nutrient for public health, joining forces with aesthetics which, consequently, improves patients' emotional health,” they conclude in the study.
Read the full paper:
Academic Highlights
Josiele Batista
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
