Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

Obesity & Metabolism

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The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways, in which one chemical is transformed through a series of steps into another chemical, by a sequence of enzymes. There are multiple levels of metabolic regulation. In intrinsic regulation, the metabolic pathway self-regulates to respond to changes in the levels of substrates or products a decrease in the amount of product can increase the flux through the pathway to compensate. This type of regulation often involves allosteric regulation of the activities of multiple enzymes in the pathway. Being overweight increases the chances of developing the common type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes. In this disease, the body makes enough insulin but the cells in the body have become resistant to the salutary action of insulin. Science proposes that being overweight stresses the insides of individual cells. Specifically, overeating stresses the membranous network inside of cells called endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Most patients with type 2 diabetes are obese, and the global epidemic of obesity largely explains the dramatic increase in the incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes over the past 20 years. Currently, over a third (34%) of U.S. adults are obese (defined as BMI >30 kg/m2), and over 11% of people aged ≥20 years have diabetes, a prevalence projected to increase to 21% by 2050. Reducing your body weight, by even a small amount, can help improve your body's insulin sensitivity and lower your risk of developing Cardiovascular Diseases and metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and types of cancer.