Obesity is known to be a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, as well as for the insulin resistance that's a hallmark of the disease. Mouse studies suggest that obesity results in the production of microRNAs by adipose tissue, which diminishes the ability of tissues to respond to insulin.
insulin resistance
A recent study, published in Nature Medicine, demonstrates the role of branched-chain amino acid metabolite, 3-HIB, in the development of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle tissue.
How obesity feeds into insulin resistance remains somewhat of a mystery. A new study, which confined normal-weight men to hospital beds while having them consume 6,000 calories per day, sheds some light onto the possible cause of insulin resistance in the obese.