Obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents
Rappaport, E.B.; Usher, D.C.
Pediatric Annals 35(11): 822-826
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 0090-4481 PMID: 17153129 Document Number: 604740
Insulin sensitivity - tissue responsiveness to the effects of insulin on glucose disposal - varies widely and decreases with increasing adiposity. Obesity and physical inactivity in genetically predisposed people produce insulin resistance, compensatory hyperinsulinaemia, and a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and glucose intolerance. Abnormal glucose tolerance is a component of metabolic syndrome and a precursor of type 2 diabetes, a disorder once thought to occur only in middle-aged and older adults. Fat tissue is now recognized as a secretory organ participating actively in these processes. With the increasing prevalence of obesity in the young, both metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes are occurring with increasing frequency in children, adolescents, and young adults.