Obesity Effect on Developing Diabetes

Question: How the obesity effect on developing diabetes ( the mechanism) by increase insulin resistance? Answer: Obesity is known to be associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The people who are obese the adipose tissue is much more compared to the healthy individuals. This adipose tissue releases high amount of non esterified fatty acids, hormones, glycerol, pro-inflammatory cytokines and some other factors as well that play a major role in the process of development of resistance of insulin. Two factors have been identified to be responsible for obesity to elicit type 2 diabetes- first: the impairment of the response of the skeletal muscles to insulin, which is a major and primary condition in obesity and secondly the pre condition for the onset of type 2 diabetes. When insulin resistance is also accompanied with the dysfunctionality in the working of the pancreatic islet cells (cells that are known to be responsible for release of insulin), it often leads to loss of control of the blood glucose levels. Therefore, the abnormalities associated with islet cells is critical factor in e valuating and assessing the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes (Kahn, S., Hull., R. and Utschneider, M., 2006). Another factor that contributes to the association between obesity and type 2 diabetes is the intake of glucose and several macronutrients that leads to oxidative stress and inflammatory changes. Obesity is, thus, the proinflammatory state accompanied with oxidative stress. Also, the increase in the plasma concentrations of the inflammatory mediators like TNF (Tumour necrosis factor) and interleukin-6 causes the interruption in the insulin action by downregulating the insulin transduction pathway. This is expected to intrude with the anti inflammatory effect of the insulin and may lead to inflammation (Dandona, P., Aljada, A. and Bandyopadhyay, A., 2004). References Kahn, S., Hull., R. and Utschneider, M. (2006). Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Nature, 444: 840-846. Dandona, P., Aljada, A. and Bandyopadhyay, A. (2004). Inflammation: the link between insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. Trends in immunology, 25(1): 4-7.