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Many people who are obese or have Type 2 diabetes (fnoninsulin-dependent),
hypertension, lipid disorders and heart disease often have an
underlying abnormality which causes one or more of these diseases to
develop. It is called insulin resistance or Syndrome X and affects
70 to 80 million Americans. In an attempt to
regulate blood sugar levels, the body secretes insulin from the
pancreas, but as the body becomes less sensitive to the insulin,
more insulin is released until the pancreas eventually fails to
sustain this increase. Type 2 diabetes is the condition most
obviously linked to insulin resistance.
One half of patients with essential hypertension
are insulin resistant, but just exactly how insulin resistance
influences blood pressure is controversial.
People with insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes
often have decreased HDL (the good) cholesterol levels and increased
LDL (the bad) levels.
Obesity promotes insulin resistance and can be
improved with weight loss, resulting is less sensitivity and lower
insulin levels. The degree of insulin resistance is also related to
where the body carries the weight. Abdominal obesity is most
commonly found in Syndrome X individuals.
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