Insulin Resistance: The Metabolic Problem You May Not Feel

AI-generated illustration of visceral fat and insulin resistance

Insulin is a hormone that helps your body use and store energy, including glucose from the food you eat.

In insulin resistance, tissues such as muscle, liver, and fat do not respond to insulin as effectively as they should. To compensate, the pancreas produces more insulin. For some time, this extra insulin may keep blood glucose within the normal range.

That is why insulin resistance can develop without obvious symptoms and before diabetes appears.

Several factors can increase insulin resistance, including excess body fat—particularly around the abdomen—physical inactivity, genetics, ageing, poor sleep and certain conditions such as PCOS. It is also closely linked with metabolic problems such as fatty liver, high triglycerides, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

The good news is that insulin sensitivity can improve. Regular physical activity, including both aerobic and resistance exercise, reducing excess weight when appropriate, eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep and addressing other metabolic risk factors can all help.

You usually do not need special insulin tests to know whether you are at metabolic risk. Doctors commonly assess your overall risk using factors such as waist and weight, blood pressure, glucose or HbA1c, cholesterol and triglycerides, along with your medical and family history.

Insulin resistance is often silent—but it is also an opportunity to act before metabolic disease progresses.

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