[Obesity and insulin resistance]

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Metabolic Disorders
• Cardiovascular Health

Background:

• Obesity is a growing epidemiological concern in Western countries.
• It is frequently associated with metabolic disorders, particularly affecting glucose metabolism.
• Understanding the link between obesity, insulin resistance, and lipid metabolism is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate insulin resistance in obese women.
• To investigate the relationship between overweight, insulin resistance, and lipid metabolism markers.
• To assess cardiovascular disease risk factors in obese individuals.

Main Methods:

• Study included 27 obese female outpatients and 18 age-matched normal-weight controls.
• Measurements included Body Mass Index (BMI), fasting glucose (G-0'), fasting insulin (IRI-0'), cholesterol (C), HDL (C-HDL), LDL (C-LDL), and triglycerides (TG).
• Oral glucose tolerance tests were used to measure glucose and insulin response over 120 minutes (AUC-G, IRI-120', AUC-IRI). Diabetic subjects were excluded.

Main Results:

• Obese women exhibited significantly higher glucose and insulin responses (AUC-G, IRI-120', AUC-IRI) compared to controls.
• HDL cholesterol (C-HDL) was significantly lower in obese women.
• BMI and fasting insulin (IRI-0') showed inverse relationships with C-HDL and direct relationships with C-LDL. BMI also correlated positively with IRI-0' and netAUC-IRI.

Conclusions:

• Obesity contributes to glycemic impairment and promotes atherogenic alterations in plasma lipid parameters.
• These lipid changes may occur independently or be mediated by insulin resistance.
• Obesity should be recognized as a pathological condition and a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, requiring careful management.