Hormonal
Obesity alone does not cause insulin resistance or elevated cardiovascular disease risk; rather, insulin resistance is the primary driver of metabolic abnormalities and CVD risk, regardless of body weight.
Do not assume that being overweight automatically means you have dangerous metabolic issues or that your weight is the direct cause of your health problems. Instead, focus on improving insulin sensitivity through lifestyle changes. If you are overweight, you are more likely to be insulin resistant, but if you are not insulin resistant, your CVD risk may be lower than expected for your weight. Weight loss is effective for everyone regardless of insulin resistance, but it significantly improves metabolic markers (like triglycerides and inflammation) specifically in those who are insulin resistant.
obesity is only one of several factors that modulate insulin action and by no means does insulin resistance equal obesity... it is those overweight/obese individuals who are also insulin resistant that are at greatest CVD risk.
Why this rating
Based on multiple controlled studies (SSPG measurements) comparing obese/insulin-resistant vs. obese/insulin-sensitive groups.
Source
Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Cardiovascular Disease
G M Reaven · Recent Progress in Hormone Research · 2004
DOI 10.1210/rp.59.1.207
More from this paper
- Baseline insulin resistance does not predict the magnitude of weight loss achieved through calorie-restricted diets; both insulin-resistant and insulin-sensitive obese individuals lose similar amounts of weight.Good
- Weight loss significantly improves cardiovascular disease risk factors (triglycerides, HDL, glucose, insulin, CRP) only in individuals who are insulin resistant; insulin-sensitive individuals see little to no improvement in these metabolic markers despite similar weight loss.Good
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