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Comment by Retric | Hacker News Reader

Note this is only "young, overweight/obese, vitamin-deficient, but otherwise still healthy African-Americans"

Thanks for pointing that out, there have been major issues with drawing overly-broad conclusions based on studies pertaining to a specific demographic, before studying the general population.

For example, omega-3 fish oil became one of the most popular supplements since a 1970's Danish study showing it helped prevent heart attacks ... among the Inuit, whom it turns out are the only group that produce the enzymes needed to metabolize fish oil.[1]

That said this is far from the first or only study showing health benefits to vitamin D supplementation.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/inuit-study-adds-...

Thanks! Maybe this explains why it gives me a 24 hour stomach ache! (although not all brands?!)

There's more research on fish-oil / omega-3's than just that one study though. See:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19609891

for example.

True but Black and Asian populations living in northern colder climates with less sunlight are well known to have vitamin D deficiency.

I remember a news article on the BBC over 30 years ago saying doctors where seeing rickets in the UK's Asian population - a disease that had been wiped out in the white population a generation or so before.

The 'otherwise still healthy' part almost hides the fact that this is about sick/ill people. Not sure what the African-Americans specificity has to do with it.

"Overweight/obese blacks are at increased risk for vitamin D deficiency because darker skin absorbs less sunlight -- the skin makes vitamin D in response to sun exposure -- and fat tends to sequester vitamin D for no apparent purpose, says Dong, the study's corresponding author."

Ah, that makes sense indeed.

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