Increased Muscle Mass Associated With Reduced Risk for Insulin Resistance

Another reason to train.

Another reason to go to The Anabolic Clinic (sm).

In tandem with worldwide increases in the prevalence of obesity, the prevalence of diabetes is also expected to increase rapidly. Insulin resistance is associated with elevations in blood glucose levels above the normal range and contributes significantly to the development of diabetes, which, in turn, is a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity.

Very low muscle mass, or sarcopenia, is a risk factor for insulin resistance, according to findings from earlier research. In addition, muscle is the primary tissue contributing to whole-body insulin-mediated glucose disposal. However, no previous study has looked at whether increasing muscle mass to average and above-average levels, independent of obesity levels, would be associated with better regulation of blood glucose...

Building a higher muscle mass may improve insulin sensitivity and lower the risk for prediabetes or overt diabetes, findings of a new study suggest.

Preethi Srikanthan, MD, MS, with the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues reported the findings online July 21 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"Our findings represent a departure from the usual focus of clinicians, and their patients, on just losing weight to improve metabolic health," noted Dr. Srikanthan in a press release. "Instead, this research suggests a role for maintaining fitness and building muscle," he said.

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