New Study Suggests Insulin Increases Weight Gain

America’s society is dealing with the huge issue of obesity. Many people either don’t have time or do not feel like cooking at the end of the day and with hamburgers and fries so readily available, who really needs to?

Obesity is a growing problem due to overeating and it can develop from high insulin levels as well. Many researchers have suggested it the other way around, that obesity causes high insulin levels. This new theory is based on the testing of mice. It is very much the whole chicken or the egg problem, which one came first?

The study shows that animals who had lower insulin ended up staying slimmer than those who were given a high fat, all you can eat diet. Researchers say that it is the first evidence in mammals that are using insulin can impel obesity.

Studies have also provided researchers with evidence that supports obesity in those who use long-term insulin. James Johnson of the University of British Columbia said, “We are very inclined to think of insulin as either good or bad, but it’s neither,” Johnson said. “This doesn’t mean anyone should stop taking insulin; there are nuances and ranges at which insulin levels are optimal.”

Mice have two insulin genes, which Johnson and his colleagues took advantage of for the study. The first insulin shows up in the pancreas while the second shows up in the brain and the pancreas.

The researchers studied ways to eliminate insulin 2 while making better copies of insulin 1. When the mice were presented with a high-fat food diet, those with the one copy and lower fasting insulin were protected from obesity and did not lose their appetite. They had less inflammation and less flat in their livers.

Johnson said, “It isn’t clear what the findings might mean in the clinic just yet, noting that drugs designed to block insulin have been shown to come with unwanted side effects. There are ways to eat and diets that keep insulin levels lower or that allow insulin levels to return to a healthy baseline each day.”