Even more concerning is the number of 'morbidly obese' people in the US. One in six, or over 10 million people, is defined in this category. That means that they have a BMI of 40 or greater. When you assume that a healthy person has a BMI of 20 or less, a morbidly-obese person has over twice the body fat of a person at a healthy weight.
We all know that morbid obesity can cause heart problems and strokes. What many don't know is that morbidly obese people suffer from high rates of diabetes. For the most part, their diabetes emerges because they don't exercise enough and eat too much.
How the Body Processes Food
The body has a clever way to process the food we eat, as long as we eat in a healthy way. The food we eat is converted by the liver to glucose (for energy) and fat (for fat storage). If the body needs energy, our cells can process the glucose circulating in our bloodstream. As we 'burn' those sugars, the body sends signals to the pancreas to produce more insulin.
Our cells absorb the increasing insulin in the bloodstream, which tells them to absorb more glucose. Falling glucose levels stimulate the liver to send more energy to the cells. The liver 'decides' between converting more food to glucose, or converts the fats in our body to glucose.
That's how it works in a well-functioning body.
Our Systems Can Break Down
If we become morbidly obese, this self-correcting mechanism can go haywire. Obese people eat too much food, especially sugars and starches (breads, sugary drinks, candy, etc.). The liver, overwhelmed, pushes too much glucose into our bloodstream. As a result, the pancreas produces more insulin, and the cells end up absorbing both glucose and insulin.
Over time, your cells-brain, muscle, other body cells-becomes oversaturated with insulin. That means that the cells need more and more insulin to evoke the same glucose-absorbing response. This need for more and more insulin stems from 'insulin resistance,' or the increasing need of your body's cells to have insulin in order to function normally.
A good counter to insulin resistance is to exercise. Even if we're obese, exercise causes the cells to absorb more glucose, and the insulin resistance drops.
Diet and Exercise for the Morbidly Obese
Another way to reduce this problem is to eat less, or eat differently. If we eat fewer starches and sugars, our liver is likely to be less overloaded, and pushes out less glucose. The pancreas is stimulated less to produce insulin, and the cells' insulin resistance falls.
How about doing both? Even if you retain your body weight, insulin resistance can go down with better diet and exercise. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for morbidly obese people to exercise, and they're also more likely to eat food that overloads their system, for physical and psychological reasons.
What does insulin resistance do to the body? It narrows the arteries, cutting off circulation in the heart, the lungs, and the extremities. Left long enough, it will permanently damage the pancreas and lead to insulin-dependent diabetes. Diabetes is especially bad for the morbidly obese, who generally suffer from many problems at the same time.
What do you or someone you love do if you suffer from morbid obesity and insulin resistance? Even if you've tried to lose weight and can't, change your diet to reduce sugars. Exercise as much as you can. Your body will grow healthier without any other changes, and your chances of developing chronic diabetes will go down.
Although there are certainly pharmaceuticals to deal with insulin resistance, it's always better to understand the sources of the syndrome and deal with them in a natural way. The good news is that insulin resistance can be reduced or eliminated by a few simple changes to our diet and lifestyle.
How Does Our Insulin-Glucose Cycle Work in a Normal Mode?
Normally, our body produces insulin in response to activity. As our muscles and brain and other cells use energy (through physical activity or brain activity), they naturally absorb more fuel-glucose, for the most part-from the circulating bloodstream. Insulin intensifies this absorption; the more insulin in the bloodstream, the more glucose gets absorbed by the cells.
The pancreas senses this lower glucose level and produces more insulin. That hormone triggers the liver to produce more glucose, and should, in a properly-functioning body, trigger the cells to absorb more glucose. Thus the well-functioning insulin-glucose cycle keeps a balance of insulin and glucose circulating in the body, and adjusts as we are active in order to feed more glucose to the cells.
How Does Insulin Resistance Develop?
Insulin resistance is caused by a combination of two key factors, and made worse by a third. If a person doesn't exercise very much, their body's cycle can be pushed awry:
The cells don't take up much glucose, because they aren't very active (couch potatoes, apply here!).
If we eat something, the liver will produce more glucose, which increases the level in the bloodstream.
The higher glucose level spurs the pancreas to produce more insulin; the insulin tells the cells "wake up, and take in more glucose!"
As the cells don't need the additional fuel, they cover their ears and say "I don't believe you, insulin, because I don't need more glucose."
The result is insulin resistance - cells require more insulin to absorb the same amount of sugars.
Poor diet only makes this cycle worse. The more sugary snacks and refined starches (such as white bread and sugary soft drinks) we consume, the more glucose the liver produces. The liver can't help it - it can't convert all those sugars fast enough, so a lot leaks through the system and ends up in the bloodstream.
Seeing all this sugar in the bloodstream, the pancreas produces more insulin, the cells hold their ears and don't believe the insulin, and insulin resistance gets worse.
What Can We Do Against Insulin Resistance?
The simple answer is: exercise more and eat fewer refined sugars and starches. Neither change needs to be drastic: just cutting out a couple of soft drinks or candy bars between meals can help our glucose levels return to normal. And a brisk walk or even brain activity (no, watching TV doesn't count) can help the cells to absorb more insulin and glucose. Order is restored to the glucose-insulin cycle.
Oh yes, there is one more think that helps: lose a few pounds. Just 5-10% reductions in body weight can bring us back to 'normal' range for insulin use.
So it's as easy as that? It's always easy to tell others how to get healthy. But these simple changes in lifestyle will make a huge difference to your chances of developing insulin resistance - and eventually succumbing to Type-2 diabetes.
Scott Meyers has sinced written about articles on various topics from Diabetes Treatment, Health and Skin Care. Scott Meyers is a staff writer for , a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our w. Scott Meyers's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.