Insulin and the Impact of Lifestyle Factors

By Lyssa Balick, MS

Overview

Insulin resistance is a condition where your body does not respond properly to insulin and as a result, your body cannot easily absorb glucose from the bloodstream.  Over time, this can make it hard for your body to control glucose and may lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time (1).

Both aging and lifestyle factors can affect the way your body produces insulin. Factors that lead to higher insulin resistance include:

• Genetic makeup or family history of diabetes.
• Age-related changes in glucose or carbohydrate metabolism.
• Lifestyle factors such as less activity, smoking, or eating more calories than your body needs.
• Obesity, especially around the abdominal area (2).

For women, the menopause transition may impact the body’s ability to process insulin as well. Dr. Hanah Polotsky is a medical doctor practicing in the Weill-Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. She recently completed a literature review on the topic and the evidence suggests that the incidence of metabolic syndrome (including insulin resistance) increases during menopause.   This is caused in part by changing hormones, weight gain and increased body fat in the abdominal region (3).
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While genetics and aging do have an impact, small changes in lifestyle factors can make a big difference.

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