Research

Energy balance

In individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity, skeletal muscle mitochondria exhibit reduced functional capacity (Complex I activity) and smaller morphological size, which correlates with the severity of insulin resistance.

If you have type 2 diabetes or obesity, your muscle mitochondria may be less efficient at burning fuel, contributing to insulin resistance. This is not just a 'willpower' issue but a biological one. However, because this dysfunction correlates with insulin resistance, interventions that improve metabolic health (like exercise, which increases mitochondrial biogenesis) can potentially reverse or mitigate these structural and functional deficits.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We conclude that there is an impaired bioenergetic capacity of skeletal muscle mitochondria in type 2 diabetes, with some impairment also present in obesity.
David E. Kelley et al. · Diabetes · 2002

Why this rating

Controlled clinical study with clear statistical significance (P < 0.005) and multiple validation methods (enzyme assays, electron microscopy).

Source

Dysfunction of Mitochondria in Human Skeletal Muscle in Type 2 Diabetes

David E. Kelley et al. · Diabetes · 2002

DOI 10.2337/diabetes.51.10.2944

cohort · n=30Cited 2,311×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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