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When a person is insulin resistant, his or her cells resist the “jimmying” (or unlocking) effect of insulin. Glucose can’t get in and remains outside the cells, so the pancreas thinks it needs to make more and more insulin to over- power these cells and “force” them open. But no matter how much insulin the pancreas generates, insulin-resistant cells can neither yield to its battering ram nor absorb the blood sugar waiting behind it. Cells remain impenetrable, and glucose stays in the blood, elevating blood-sugar levels.

Since glucose can’t get into the cells, the cells run out of energy. Furthermore, the pancreas soon wears out from chronic overproduction and eventually loses its ability to produce enough insulin. At that point, glu- cose remains in the blood, locked out of cells unused, and blood-sugar levels get higher and higher. That’s not good. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC), a high blood-sugar level is a major cause of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke , blindness, and early death. Some cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable. Why? This type of diabetes is almost always associated with excess weight. In fact, obesity influences the prevalence of type 2 diabetes more often than any other factor. According to the Harvard Gazette , the Harvard University newspaper, 85 percent of those with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Anyone with a BMI over twenty-five is at risk of developing this disease. How does surplus weight trigger the disease’s onset? No one knows for sure, but some theories exist. One idea is that being overweight or obese causes cells to change, making them insulin resistant. (We already know that as we gain weight, fat cells change by expanding. Could other cells also change with regard to insulin response?)

30 / Health Issues Caused by Obesity