The Vitamin D Council is reporting another study underscoring the importance of the sunshine vitamin has found that low vitamin D levels in obese children could be a precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes.

“To be published in the January 2012 edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the study found that obese children with lower levels of vitamin D had higher degrees of insulin resistance, researchers said,” the Vitamin D Council reported in a web post on Tuesday. “Though they stopped short of concluding that vitamin D deficiency causes abnormal glucose metabolism, researchers from the University of Texas said their study suggests that low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.”

The Vitamin D Council reported that study on the heels of a study published last month at the University of Missouri-Columbia which found that obese teenagers need significantly more vitamin D than their leaner counterparts — seven times more than the current daily recommended intake of 600 International Units (IU).

“That’s because obese adolescents absorb vitamin D in their fat stores and are about half as efficient as their leaner counterparts at metabolizing their benefits, researchers said,” the Vitamin D council reported. Their study called for obese adolescents to up their vitamin D intake to 4,000 IUs.

To read The Vitamin D Council’s report click here.