Zhou SS, Zhou Y. Excess vitamin intake: An unrecognized risk factor for obesity. World J Diabetes 2014; 5(1): 1-13 [PMID: 24567797 DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i1.1]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shi-Sheng Zhou, MD, PhD, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Dalian University, University Street No. 10, Dalian 116622, Liaoning Province, China. zhouss@ymail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
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World J Diabetes. Feb 15, 2014; 5(1): 1-13 Published online Feb 15, 2014. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i1.1
Excess vitamin intake: An unrecognized risk factor for obesity
Shi-Sheng Zhou, Yiming Zhou
Shi-Sheng Zhou, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Dalian University, Dalian 116622, Liaoning Province, China
Yiming Zhou, Division of Cell Signaling, Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8787, Japan
Author contributions: Both authors contributed to this paper.
Correspondence to: Shi-Sheng Zhou, MD, PhD, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Dalian University, University Street No. 10, Dalian 116622, Liaoning Province, China. zhouss@ymail.com
Telephone: +86-411-87402740 Fax: +86-411-87402053
Received: October 16, 2013 Revised: December 7, 2013 Accepted: December 17, 2013 Published online: February 15, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: B vitamins are a known fat gain promoting factor. Food fortification-induced high vitamin consumption is followed by a rapid increase in obesity prevalence. Why is the fat gain effect of B vitamins neglected in obesity studies? Why does obesity prevalence vary from country to country? Why are the poor in developed countries but the rich in developing countries at high risk of obesity? Why is obesity prevalence higher in blacks than whites in the United States? Why does formula feeding (which is associated with high energy expenditure) increase the risk for obesity? Why is physical inactivity associated with increased obesity risk? This paper reviews the role of excess vitamins in obesity and proposes a unified answer to these questions.
