{"id":102030,"date":"2025-05-14T23:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T23:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102030\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T23:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T23:27:08","slug":"exercise-is-the-key-to-maintaining-vitamin-d-levels-in-winter-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102030\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise is the key to maintaining Vitamin D levels in winter, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"exercise\"<\/p>\n

Credit: Unsplash\/CC0 Public Domain<\/p>\n

The sun may be shining now, and our vitamin D levels are getting a natural boost, but it wasn’t long ago that we were in the depths of winter, when sunlight was scarce and vitamin D was in short supply.<\/p>\n

Now, new research from the University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge and others, published<\/a> in Advanced Science, has revealed that regular, moderate-intensity exercise<\/a> helps maintain crucial vitamin D levels during the darker months\u2014even without weight loss or supplements.<\/p>\n

Researchers found that people with overweight and obesity who completed a 10\u2011week indoor exercise program over winter<\/a> experienced significantly smaller drops in vitamin D levels compared to those who didn’t exercise\u2014even though their body weight<\/a> was deliberately maintained.<\/p>\n

The program involved four sessions per week: two treadmill walks, one longer steady\u2011state bike ride, and one high\u2011intensity interval bike session.<\/p>\n

Notably, exercise completely preserved the body’s active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)\u2082D\u2083), which plays a key role in supporting bone health, the immune system, and various organs. Previous studies suggest that vitamin D supplements alone do not help maintain this active form.<\/p>\n

Lead author Dr. Oly Perkin, from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism, Department for Health at the University of Bath, said, “This is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D. It’s a powerful reminder that we still have lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health.”<\/p>\n

Key findings:<\/p>\n