Insulin Resistance - The Pre-diabetes that Most Are Unaware Of

Many people don’t even realize they are already on the path to developing diabetes with a condition known as insulin resistance, a type of pre-diabetes, it is a growing national problem: Some experts believe half of all overweight or obese American adults are insulin-resistant. As women enter the years leading to menopause, the hormonal changes that trigger hot flashes and end menstruation make women more likely to add fat around the waistline than in other places. A key tip-off of looming trouble is a waistline over 34 inches, (For men, it's 40 inches.) Fat also builds up in the liver and other vital organs, predisposing them to insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin no longer can inject enough glucose into the body's cells for fuel.

The body's compensatory mechanisms eventually fail; blood pressure rises along with levels of blood sugar and blood fat — making cells even more resistant to insulin. Diabetes, heart disease or both often follow. That’s the sequence that's occurring in tens of millions of American adults and an increasing number of children amid the country's obesity epidemic. Besides a family history of heart disease or diabetes, women who had diabetes during pregnancy or who had a baby 9 pounds or heavier are at higher risk of insulin resistance.

There are no outward physical signs of insulin resistance.  A glucose tolerance test, during which insulin and blood glucose are measured, can help determine if someone is insulin resistant.  Many people who are insulin resistant produce large enough quantities of insulin to maintain near normal blood glucose levels. In a normal person after you eat, the food is broken down into glucose, the simple sugar that is the main source of energy for the body's cells. But your cells cannot use glucose without insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin helps the cells take in glucose and convert it to energy. When the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body is unable to use the insulin that is present, the cells cannot use glucose.