How Does Insulin Cause Weight Gain?

Shaivy Choubey

Medically Reviewed By Dr. Aarti Nehra

Generally, people wonder does glucose increases weight. Well, the answer to this lies in understanding how insulin works in the body and impacts weight. The human body’s metabolism can get complex and cause it to move towards a point where insulin for weight gain is addressed.

Insulin and weight gain should be understood in detail so that you can also focus on the precautionary measures and solutions. By promoting the uptake of glucose into cells, the pancreatic hormone, insulin, is essential for controlling blood sugar levels. Insulin can lead to weight gain through several pathways involving its metabolic effects on proteins, lipids, and carbs, even though it is necessary for energy metabolism.

You may think that insulin can make you gain weight and to think of the same, one needs to understand the mechanisms in the body.

What Leads to Weight Gain?

Given below are the reasons that lead to weight gain in the body due to insulin mismanagement:

Reduced Fat Oxidation:

Insulin inhibits the oxidation of fatty acids by lowering the level of hormone-sensitive lipase, an enzyme essential in catabolizing stored triglycerides into free fatty acids. In this situation, the utilization of fat as an energy source is discontinued because high insulin levels indicate that there is plenty of glucose for energy production. It reduces how fat is metabolized, thus leading to the accumulation of fat and of course, weight gain.

Promotion of Fat Storage:

Insulin is a hypertrophic hormone responsible for the deposition of energy substrates. The roles include promotion and increasing the storage of glucose in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. Nevertheless, when glycogen storage is readily available, insulin stimulates the transformation of the excess glucose to fat – lipogenesis. It enhances the transport of fatty acids and glycerol into adipocytes, adipose tissues, or fat cells, which enhances fat deposits. Insulin also suppresses lipolysis, which is the action of the utilization of the fat deposits for the release of fatty acids that are available in the blood to supply energy.

Energy Efficiency and Fat Deposition:

Insulin optimizes how the body stores energy by making the process more effective. Insulin facilitates glucose consumption and utilization, ensuring it is used as ‘fuel’ instead of being wasted. This energy conservation is helpful during limited energy availability. However, if the current dietary patterns of a patient include carbohydrates in abundance, increased obesity results from energy being stored as fat in the body.

Increased Caloric Intake:

The high levels of insulin are associated with hunger and appetite. Insulin impacts the hypothalamus, which is a part of the brain and is associated with hunger signals. Interference with normal insulin signalling can result in lower levels of leptin- a hormone that is involved in the signalling of satiation and higher levels of ghrelin hormone that triggers hunger. This hormonal dysfunction causes an increase in nutritional intake, especially carbohydrates, which triggers a cycle of unhealthy production and insulin release, contributing to weight gain.

How to Manage the Condition?

Exogenous insulin use generally prompts weight gain, and it can be applicable in diabetic patients, especially those with type 2 diabetes. It is often attributed to better blood glucose management as insulin effectively acts to store glucose. This, of course, is independent of treatment because, before the beginning of any treatment course, high blood glucose levels imply that calories are being excreted in the urine, thus resulting in weight loss.

The fastest way to lose weight with insulin resistance is observed here. Insulin and weight loss can be understood as a sign of developing malfunction in the body. Insulin resistance and weight loss can be addressed by proper blood glucose management.

After initiation of insulin therapy and normalization of glycemia, this calorie loss ceases and the body can extract calories from food intake, thus experiencing obesity. However, low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, which patients under insulin often experience may lead to patients consuming more foods with sugars to increase their sugar levels and make them gain weight.

Here are some of the best tips if you are gaining weight due to Insulin:

  • Dietary Management:
    Reduce amounts of sugar, starch, and processed foods because they put pressure on the insulin system. Consume vegetables, whole grain products, lean meats, and good fats, such as olive oil to maintain blood glucose steadiness.
  • Regular Physical Activity:
    Insulin sensitivity improves when participating in exercise, which implies a less amount of insulin will be necessary to help maintain good blood glucose levels. Engaging in physical activities helps use glucose and fatty acids as energy instead of storing them as fats.
  • Medication Adjustments:
    For people who are already on insulin, consult with the healthcare providers to adjust insulin dosage. Also, discuss the other products that are useful for usage along with insulin to prevent gaining extra weight and help reduce insulin consumption.

Does Insulin Resistance Cause Weight Gain?

Here is how insulin resistance weight gain occurs in the body:

Increased Insulin Levels:

The hormone insulin, and the condition of insulin resistance, relate to increased insulin levels which promotes fat storage. After glucose hits the bloodstream, insulin helps glucose molecules penetrate the cells and convert them into fat production when energy consumption surpasses energy expenditure.

Lowered Fat Oxidation:

One can observe that insulin resistance decreases the capability of the organism to metabolize fat. Insulin causes fatty acids not to be released from adipose tissue which causes its accumulation within these tissues.

Poor Diet:

Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to high levels of glucose in the blood, leading to exaggerated hunger signals and increased food consumption which contributes to weight gain.

Challenges of Weight Reduction for Patients with Severe Insulin Resistance

Weight loss due to Insulin Deficiency in Diabetes. In some worst-case scenarios, it happens if the patient has type 1 diabetes or late-stage type 2 diabetes where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to regulate the sugar consumption; thereby, the glucose is excreted in the urine, and the patient loses weight. However, insulin resistance is not necessarily the culprit here, but rather an absolute deficiency of insulin.

Conclusion

To sum up, it is crucial to state that insulin resistance in most cases concerns weight gain, not weight loss. One needs to follow certain lifestyle changes that promote an overall growth in health. Managing diabetes becomes crucial as it can severely impact the human body in numerous ways. Strategies to work on metabolism levels and follow a good routine are a must in such cases.

About Shaivy Choubey is a full time content writer with over 7 years of experience, specialising in medical and healthcare forte. She has an extensive knowledge and understanding in crafting, editing, and proofreading the content of infertility treatments (IVF, ICSI, IMSI, Surrogacy, etc.), surgical procedures, sexual well-being issues and their treatments (ED, PE, Low Libido, PCOS, PMS, and more), weight management, diabetic care, skincare, hair care, nutrition and general lifestyle; moreover she has an in-depth knowledge in cosmeceuticals, pharmaceuticals too. Her career started in 2018 holding a designation of a web content writer in one of the fertility clinics in Delhi, the very previous organisation she was into - she holds the esteemed position of senior content writer, continuing her journey in nutraceuticals, wellness, and fitness. Currently she is working at HealthKart as an Assistant Content Manager, where she proofreads, edits, strategizes the content, scrutinises articles/ blogs/ PDPs available in the website, and publishes the high-quality content incorporating the standard SEO practice. When not working, she loves to sing, read, do yoga and zumba. Expertise Infertility, Health and Wellness, Fitness, Sexual Well-being, Pharmaceuticals, Skincare, Haircare, General Lifestyle, Nutrition, Medical, Nutraceutical Education English Honors from Delhi University Masters in Literature from IGNOU Certifications PGDT (Post Graduation Diploma in English Translation) DCE (Diploma in Creative Writing) Diploma in web designing and graphics Microsoft office specialist

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