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(Journal of Nutrition. 2001;131:354S-360S.)
© 2001 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences


Supplement

Obesity, Body Fat Distribution, Insulin Sensitivity and Islet {beta}-Cell Function as Explanations for Metabolic Diversity1 ,2

Steven E. Kahn*3, Ronald L. Prigeon*, Robert S. Schwartz{dagger}, Wilfred Y. Fujimoto, Robert H. Knopp**, John D. Brunzell and Daniel Porte, Jr.*

Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Washington and * Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System and ** Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98108; and {dagger} Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO 80267

3To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: skahn{at}u.washington.edu.


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Studies of metabolic processes have been enhanced by our understanding of the relationships among obesity, body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity and islet {beta}-cell function. Thus, we have learned that although insulin resistance is usually associated with obesity, even lean subjects can be insulin resistant due to the accumulation of visceral fat. Insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function are also intimately linked. The hyperbolic relationship between these two parameters explains why insulin-resistant individuals have markedly enhanced insulin responses, whereas subjects who are insulin sensitive exhibit very low responses. Failure to take into account this relationship will lead to erroneous conclusions. By accounting for this important interaction, it has been clearly demonstrated that subjects at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes (older individuals, women with a history of gestational diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome, subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and first-degree relatives of individuals with type 2 diabetes) have impaired {beta}-cell function. Furthermore, the progression from normal glucose tolerance to impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes is associated with declining insulin secretion.


KEY WORDS: • obesity • intra-abdominal fat • impaired glucose tolerance • gestational diabetes • polycystic ovary syndrome


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
The prevalence of obesity in the United States is increasing dramatically (1)Citation . This increase in the prevalence of obesity appears to be associated with an increased prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, including hypertension and reduced glucose tolerance. Although coronary artery disease and dyslipidemia are also common, their incidence is declining in part due to improved treatment, which includes nutritional and exercise interventions (2)Citation .

One component of the work examining the pathogenesis of states of altered lipid, glucose and blood pressure regulation has focused on the potential role of insulin resistance. Recognition that these are associated with insulin resistance has led to the description of what is now known as the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome or Syndrome X (3)Citation . Although it has been demonstrated conclusively that obesity is associated with insulin resistance, the importance of the pattern of body fat distribution to the insulin resistance that characterizes this syndrome has been less well studied. It is our thesis and that of others that it is likely that a central pattern of body fat distribution is a major cause of insulin resistance and may explain the heterogeneity observed when examining insulin sensitivity in different population groups.

The pathogenesis of complex diseases such as type 2 diabetes, familial combined hyperlipidemia, hypertension and polycystic ovary syndrome that are commonly associated with insulin resistance frequently requires the presence of at least one other factor. Type 2 diabetes is one of the best examples because hyperglycemia is clearly the result of the interaction of defects in both insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function (4)Citation . In trying to discern the pathogenesis of this disease process, it has become clear that when one of these two critical factors is considered alone, erroneous conclusions may be drawn. Thus, with the realization that insulin sensitivity is a major determinant of the degree of {beta}-cell function and that interpretation of {beta}-cell function must be done in the light of the prevailing degree of insulin sensitivity (5Citation ,6)Citation , it has become clear that defects in islet {beta}-cell function are absolutely critical to the development of type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, with the use of this approach, it has been demonstrated that defects in {beta}-cell function are present long before the diagnostic criterion for diabetes has been met (7Citation 8Citation 9Citation 10Citation 11Citation 12Citation 13Citation 14)Citation .

In this review, we will address a number of these issues, highlighting possible reasons for metabolic diversity. First, the importance of body composition and body fat distribution to insulin sensitivity will be examined. Second, the effect of insulin sensitivity on {beta}-cell function and delineation of the nature of this relationship will be discussed. Finally, knowledge of this relationship between insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function will be used to highlight the importance of alterations in insulin secretion on glucose tolerance in states of health and disease.


    Relationship between body fat distribution and insulin sensitivity
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
It has long been recognized that obesity is associated with insulin resistance (15Citation ,16)Citation . Studies examining this issue have concluded that the obesity-associated defect in insulin sensitivity is the result of both pre- and postreceptor abnormalities (17)Citation . However, even with the tremendous advances in molecular biology and the identification of many of the molecules involved in the insulin signaling cascade (18)Citation , the mechanism(s) underlying this abnormality remains unclear.

The search for the elusive genetic or environmental factor(s) responsible for insulin resistance is ongoing, and the body of work that has been conducted to examine the role of body adiposity and fat distribution on insulin sensitivity has also grown. Unfortunately, many investigators studying metabolic diseases have simply used body mass index (BMI) as a measure of relative body size or obesity and attempted to match groups for this variable, without considering that BMI does not account for the fact that people with similar BMI may have widely varying distribution of their adipose tissue. This is critical because as discussed a little later, it appears that central adiposity is a more important determinant of insulin sensitivity than body size alone. Thus, when we examined the relationship between insulin sensitivity and BMI in a group of 93 healthy subjects <45 y old, we found that these two variables are not simply linearly related (6)Citation . Rather, as illustrated in Figure 1Citation , even individuals who would be considered to be lean (BMI < 25 kg/m2) had a broad range of insulin sensitivity with some of these apparently lean subjects having insulin sensitivity values that were as low as those observed in individuals who would be considered to be obese and insulin resistant.



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Figure 1. Relationship between body mass index (BMI) and insulin sensitivity in 93 apparently healthy nondiabetic subjects (55 men and 38 women) <45 y old. These subjects exhibited a broad range of insulin sensitivity quantified as the insulin sensitivity index (SI) and a broad range of BMI. The relationship between these two variables was nonlinear in nature. Thus, lean subjects (BMI < 25 kg/m2) had a broad range of insulin sensitivity so that some of the leanest subjects were as insulin resistant as the most obese individuals. Reprinted from (6)Citation .

 
The reason(s) for this lack of a simple relationship between body size and insulin sensitivity, especially in relatively lean subjects, could be complex because it is well recognized that insulin sensitivity can be influenced by factors such as genetics (19)Citation , age (20Citation ,21)Citation , acute exercise (22)Citation , physical fitness (23)Citation , dietary nutrients (24)Citation , medications (25Citation ,26)Citation and body fat distribution (27Citation 28Citation 29Citation 30Citation 31)Citation . However, when one considers a group of healthy subjects in a population, genetic mutations associated with insulin resistance are rare. For instance, in a cohort of markedly insulin-resistant individuals, two different dominant negative mutations of the peroxisome proliferator activating receptor-{gamma} could explain <4% of these cases of extreme insulin resistance (19)Citation . Thus, a genetic alteration that would explain a large number of the "garden variety" cases of insulin resistance seems unlikely. When considering what appear on the surface to be factors that are not genetically determined, aging is associated with declining insulin sensitivity (20Citation ,21)Citation , whereas exercise appears to have both acute and chronic effects to improve insulin sensitivity (22Citation ,23)Citation . However, it should be recognized that even the long-term effect of exercise training on insulin sensitivity is relatively short lived, waning significantly within a few days of stopping regular exercise (22Citation ,32)Citation . The effect of dietary constituents on insulin sensitivity appears to be age related in part because aging is associated with a decline in the body’s responsiveness to carbohydrate (24Citation ,33)Citation . Thus, consumption of the typical Western diet, which contains an increased proportion of dietary fat and lower amounts of carbohydrate, tends to promote a reduction in insulin sensitivity. This effect of dietary constituents has been shown to be reversible when dietary carbohydrate is increased for periods as short as 3 d (33)Citation . Finally, in addition to their desired effects, a number of medications including corticosteroids (25)Citation and nicotinic acid (26)Citation produce insulin resistance, a fact that should be borne in mind when using these agents. However, even when age is considered in studies of insulin sensitivity in populations, there is still a large residual variation, and diet and exercise appear to be minor contributors.

Thus, it is becoming abundantly clear that the pattern of body fat distribution is a major determinant of the residual variation of insulin sensitivity. Accumulation of body fat centrally is associated with insulin resistance, whereas distribution of body fat in a peripheral pattern is less metabolically important from the standpoint of impairing insulin action. However, although it is clear that central adiposity is of greater importance metabolically (28Citation ,34Citation ,35)Citation , there is still debate about which of the central depots is more important. Although many groups, including our own, have championed the role of the intra-abdominal depot (27Citation 28Citation 29)Citation , others have proposed that it is central subcutaneous fat accumulation that is the critical determinant of reduced insulin sensitivity (30Citation ,36)Citation .

In our studies using computerized tomography scan–based measures, we have found that subjects with increased visceral or intra-abdominal fat are more insulin resistant than those who have increased quantities of centrally located subcutaneous fat. In our initial work in a small cohort of Japanese Americans, we demonstrated that BMI was not associated with insulin sensitivity but that the quantity of intra-abdominal fat was strongly related to the minimal model–derived measure of insulin sensitivity (29)Citation (Fig. 2Citation ). However, this study was hampered in part by the small size of the cohort. Thus, we have undertaken another study from which preliminary data are now available (37)Citation . We have now examined >200 men and women who were middle aged and apparently healthy and confirmed that intra-abdominal fat was the strongest predictor of insulin sensitivity. Although subcutaneous fat was also related to insulin sensitivity, this effect was much less than that seen with intra-abdominal fat. Further analyses of these data revealed three additional interesting points. First, the relationship between central body fat distribution and insulin sensitivity was not a simple linear function but was best represented by a complex nonlinear relationship. Second, gender does not appear to affect the relationship between the quantity of intra-abdominal fat and insulin sensitivity. Third, the individual data demonstrated a large degree of overlap in the amount of intra-abdominal fat between insulin resistant individuals with low and high BMI. Interestingly, the two subjects with the most intra-abdominal fat were equally insulin resistant but one had a low and the other a high BMI.



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Figure 2. Relationship between body mass index (BMI) and insulin sensitivity quantified as the insulin sensitivity index (SI) (A) and intra-abdominal fat (IAF) and the insulin sensitivity index (SI) (B) in 15 Japanese-American men. These men exhibited a broad range of body size. BMI was not related to insulin sensitivity (r = -0.26), whereas intra-abdominal fat was significantly related (r = -0.59, P < 0.05). Adapted from (29)Citation .

 
If this intra-abdominal fat depot is an important contributor to insulin sensitivity, it would be predicted that interventions that reduce adipose tissue mass within the peritoneal cavity should be associated with improvements in insulin sensitivity. This is indeed the case as shown in our studies with exercise training or weight loss as the interventions. In a study of older men who underwent a 6-mo exercise training program, we observed a 25% reduction in intra-abdominal fat area, which was associated with a 36% improvement in insulin sensitivity (23Citation ,38)Citation . However, this intervention was also associated with the loss of peripheral fat and is complicated by the effect of exercise per se to improve insulin sensitivity (22)Citation . On the other hand, the results of our weight loss study that are not confounded by any exercise effect strongly suggest that intra-abdominal fat is critical. In a cohort of 21 older men, we found that a 3-mo weight loss program was associated with an average 10-lb (~4.5 kg; 10%) weight loss, of which 80% was fat. This decrease in fat mass was associated with a 24% reduction in intra-abdominal fat area, a 58% improvement in insulin sensitivity and the development of a less atherogenic lipid profile (39)Citation . Similar findings of the effect of weight loss on body fat distribution and insulin sensitivity were recently reported by Goodpaster et al. (31)Citation .

In summary, one of the most important factors determining insulin sensitivity in apparently healthy subjects is body fat distribution. Subjects judged to be lean by BMI criteria may be very insulin resistant if they have centrally distributed body fat. Although the issue of which of the central depots is the most important is still being debated and how these fat depots may predict this reduction in whole body insulin sensitivity is also unclear, it is apparent that marked variability in these parameters occurs in healthy subjects and may contribute to differences in disease risk among these individuals.


    Insulin sensitivity as a modulator of {beta}-cell function
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Under normal circumstances, insulin secretion by the pancreatic islet {beta}-cell is a complex event, which is modulated by a number of different variables including the nature of the secretagogue, the quantity of the secretagogue administered, the route of administration of the stimulus, the prevailing glucose level at the time of administration of the stimulus and finally, the prevailing degree of insulin sensitivity (6Citation ,40)Citation . When considering these factors, it is clear that matching of these variables is essential when assessing insulin secretion in healthy subjects and those with states of reduced glucose tolerance; failure to do so can result in erroneous conclusions.

The importance of the first four factors has become better understood over the last two decades, whereas the importance of insulin sensitivity as a determinant of the magnitude of the insulin response had been less well studied. In fact, although it was well recognized that obesity and its associated insulin resistance were associated with hyperinsulinemia, both in the basal state and after stimulation of the {beta}-cell with glucose and nonglucose secretagogues (16Citation , 41Citation 42Citation 43)Citation , the nature of this regulation was not determined until more recently (6)Citation . With the application of measures of insulin sensitivity, it appears that it is not obesity per se that is responsible for the greater insulin responses, but that variations in insulin sensitivity are responsible for modulating {beta}-cell function. Thus, subjects with reduced insulin sensitivity have increased responses to glucose and nonglucose secretagogues. On the other hand, insulin responses are small when insulin sensitivity is high.

We have quantified the relationship between different measures of {beta}-cell function and insulin sensitivity by assessing these two variables in a large cohort of healthy subjects <45 y old (6)Citation . As postulated by Bergman et al. (44)Citation , we found that the relationship between insulin sensitivity and secretion is nonlinear and best described by a hyperbolic function. The nature of this relationship implies that the product of insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function, often called the disposition index, is a constant for a given degree of glucose tolerance. This hyperbolic relationship exists whether {beta}-cell function is examined in response to glucose (Fig. 3Citation ) or nonglucose stimulation. Furthermore, these variations in insulin release in response to changes in insulin sensitivity are the result of changes in the secretory capacity of the {beta}-cell (6Citation ,26)Citation .



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Figure 3. Relationship between insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function quantified as the first-phase insulin response (AIRglucose) in 93 (55 men, 38 women) apparently healthy, nondiabetic subjects <45 y old. The cohort demonstrated a broad range of insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function; some lean individuals were as insulin resistant as obese subjects, whereas no obese subjects were insulin sensitive. The solid line depicts the best-fit relationship (50th percentile), whereas the broken lines represent the 5th, 25th, 75th and 95th percentiles. The relationship is best described by a hyperbolic function so that any change in insulin sensitivity is balanced by a reciprocal and proportionate change in {beta}-cell function. Reproduced from (6)Citation .

 
This hyperbolic relationship also implies that a feedback loop governs the interaction between the {beta}-cell and the peripheral tissues. Thus, for glucose tolerance to remain constant when insulin sensitivity varies, a proportionate and reciprocal alteration in insulin output has to occur. This can best be visualized by examining another component of the analysis that we performed. In this same large cohort of healthy subjects, we determined the percentiles for the relationship between insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function. The mean relationship was represented as the 50th percentile. Enhanced {beta}-cell responses for the degree of insulin sensitivity are represented by percentiles above the 50th, whereas reduced responses are represented below the 50th percentile (Fig. 3)Citation . It would then be predicted that for glucose tolerance to remain constant, the percentile ranking must remain identical when insulin sensitivity changes. Thus, if insulin secretion does not change appropriately, glucose tolerance will differ.

Whether this regulation of {beta}-cell function is governed by a central neural process or is the result of a humoral metabolic signal, such as free fatty acids, arising in the peripheral tissues, is unclear. However, it is clear that this adaptive increase in insulin secretion in response to the development of insulin resistance can occur relatively quickly as demonstrated by an enhancement of insulin release after only 2 wk of nicotinic acid–induced experimental insulin resistance in young healthy subjects (26)Citation . Because the disposition index declined, it appears that it may take longer for complete adaptation to occur. Furthermore, although insulin secretion increased in this study, this incomplete compensation was associated with a mild deterioration of glucose tolerance, supporting the importance of the feedback loop. However, it is also apparent from other studies that complete adaptation can occur. Such complete adaptation was demonstrated in a study of a group of older subjects who underwent a 6-mo program of intensive exercise training (23)Citation . In these subjects, a 36% improvement in insulin sensitivity was balanced by a reciprocal 30% reduction in {beta}-cell function, resulting in no change in either intravenous or oral glucose tolerance. Thus, the {beta}-cells of older subjects appeared to adapt almost perfectly to the increase in insulin sensitivity, aiming to defend the state of reduced glucose tolerance.

The hyperbolic nature of the relationship between insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion that we originally described in a cohort of apparently healthy subjects has now also been demonstrated to be present in a large group of Danish subjects (45)Citation and in a cohort of Pima Indians (46)Citation . The nature of this relationship also has important implications for the estimation of {beta}-cell function in humans. Because differences in insulin sensitivity must be balanced by reciprocal changes in {beta}-cell function in order to maintain glucose tolerance, it is apparent that although insulin responses may be identical in two groups of subjects, if insulin sensitivity is not the same, then glucose tolerance will also differ between the two groups. On the basis of the concept that {beta}-cell function should be assessed relative to insulin sensitivity, subjects with type 2 diabetes, those at risk for developing the disease and those who progress from a state of normal glucose tolerance to hyperglycemia have all been shown to have poorer {beta}-cell function than controls with normal glucose tolerance (7Citation 8Citation 9Citation 10Citation 11Citation 12Citation ,14Citation 47Citation ,48)Citation . This issue is discussed in the following section.


    Defective {beta}-cell function as a precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Using the recently defined understanding of the importance of insulin sensitivity as a modulator of {beta}-cell function, studies of groups of subjects at high risk of progression to type 2 diabetes have demonstrated the importance of impaired {beta}-cell function to the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia. In these high risk subjects, reduced {beta}-cell function is evident at a time when the fasting plasma glucose concentration is still well within the normal range. A selection of these studies is illustrated in Figures 4Citation and 5Citation and described in greater detail below.



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Figure 4. Percentile lines for the relationship between insulin sensitivity (SI) and the first-phase insulin response (AIRglucose) based on data from 93 normal subjects (6)Citation . Mean data from six other studies are plotted. The ten subjects with type 2 diabetes were insulin resistant and had markedly impaired insulin secretion (47)Citation . Thirteen healthy older subjects demonstrated that aging is associated with insulin resistance and a reduction in {beta}-cell function (23)Citation . Reduced {beta}-cell function was also manifest in 8 women with a history of gestational diabetes (GDM) (7)Citation , 11 women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCO) and a family history of type 2 diabetes (10)Citation , 21 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (14)Citation , and in 14 subjects with a first-degree relative with type 2 diabetes mellitus (48)Citation . The reduction in {beta}-cell function in these last-mentioned three groups is compatible with their high risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes.

 


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Figure 5. Individual measurements of insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function in a group of first-degree relatives of subjects with type 2 diabetes from three different families indicated by different symbols. These individuals were studied when their fasting glucose levels were normal and exhibited broad ranges of both SI and AIRglucose. When these two parameters are assessed together, it is apparent that some individuals had well-preserved {beta}-cell function, whereas others had markedly deficient responses and thus would be predicted to be at very high risk of progressing on to develop hyperglycemia. Reprinted from (48)Citation .

 
As shown in Figure 4Citation , type 2 diabetes represents the extreme of defects in both insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function. Most patients with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance as well as a markedly reduced insulin response to glucose (47)Citation . Moreover, cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that high risk groups represent a spectrum of abnormalities with some having severe reductions in insulin sensitivity, others severe defects in {beta}-cell function, and most having abnormalities in both.

It is well recognized that older subjects have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In many instances, these subjects have greater impairments in postprandial than fasting glucose. This observation is explained by the association of aging with reductions in both insulin sensitivity and secretion (21)Citation ; as illustrated in Figure 4Citation , the magnitude of the {beta}-cell defect in these apparently healthy nondiabetic subjects is quite profound so that they fall below the 5th percentile for persons aged 18–45 y (23)Citation . Two syndromes in women, namely, gestational diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome, are known to place them at increased risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. At a time when they are not pregnant and have normal fasting plasma glucose levels, women with a history of hyperglycemia during a previous pregnancy can be demonstrated to have reduced {beta}-cell function (7Citation 8Citation 9)Citation . Although these women do exhibit an insulin response to glucose, they are insulin resistant; in the presence of this resistance, they should, if anything, have enhanced insulin release. Thus, the magnitude of the impairment in {beta}-cell function can be shown to be quite severe when the relationship between insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion is considered (Fig. 4)Citation . The importance of defective insulin secretion as a risk factor for diabetes was highlighted in a report of {beta}-cell function in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and a family history of type 2 diabetes (10)Citation . Similar to the women with a history of gestational diabetes, these women demonstrated markedly reduced glucose-stimulated insulin responses, especially when these responses were assessed relative to their degree of insulin sensitivity (Fig. 4)Citation . Another state that is well recognized to be a precursor to type 2 diabetes is impaired glucose tolerance (50)Citation . Although there has been debate about the relative importance of insulin resistance and {beta}-cell dysfunction in the development of this state of altered glucose metabolism, it is clear from an analysis using these percentile plots that these individuals are insulin resistant; in fact, they are as insulin resistant as the subjects with type 2 diabetes, but they also have a marked impairment in their ability to release insulin [(14)Citation ; (Fig. 4)Citation ]. The last set of cross-sectional data was obtained in a group of healthy, nondiabetic, first-degree relatives of individuals with type 2 diabetes. As illustrated in Figure 5Citation , individual subjects in this group exhibited broad ranges of insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. However, when these two parameters are assessed in conjunction, it is apparent that many of them have markedly reduced {beta}-cell function relative to their degree of insulin sensitivity such that their percentile ranking is in the lower range regardless of their absolute {beta}-cell function measurement, presumably contributing to their high risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes (48)Citation .

The relevance and applicability of examining {beta}-cell function in concert with insulin sensitivity have been further highlighted by some recently reported longitudinal data obtained in Pima Indians [(46)Citation ; Figure 6Citation ]. In this 5-y longitudinal follow-up study, a group of 48 subjects was evaluated. At baseline, all had normal glucose tolerance. Of the cohort, 17 subjects progressed from normal to impaired to diabetic glucose tolerance, whereas 31 had normal glucose tolerance throughout. As illustrated, at the first time point at which these subjects were studied, those individuals who subsequently progressed already manifested a reduction in {beta}-cell function compared with the nonprogressors, despite the fact that at the time of this initial evaluation they still had normal glucose tolerance. When followed over time, the individuals who did not progress had small declines in insulin sensitivity, which were matched by an appropriate increase in insulin secretion; thus, this group followed their isotolerance line. In contrast, the group of progressors had a similar small decline in insulin sensitivity but rather than being compensated by increased {beta}-cell function, insulin secretion declined progressively so that these individuals deviated further and further from their starting point and developed diabetes.



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Figure 6. Changes in {beta}-cell function measured as the acute insulin response to glucose (AIR) relative to changes in insulin sensitivity measured by the clamp technique at a low insulin concentration (M-low). These measurements were made in 11 Pima Indians in whom glucose tolerance deteriorated from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to diabetes (DIA) (progressors), and in 23 subjects who maintained normal glucose tolerance (NGT) throughout (nonprogressors). The lines represent the prediction line and the lower and upper limits of the 95% confidence interval of the regression between the AIR and M-low as determined from a population of 277 Pima Indians with normal glucose tolerance. Reprinted from (46)Citation .

 
In summary, when properly assessed, abnormal {beta}-cell function can be demonstrated to be a feature in many, if not perhaps the majority of subjects at high risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes. Interpretation of {beta}-cell function in the context of the degree of insulin sensitivity is critical to defining the importance of defects in {beta}-cell secretory function to progressive impairments of glucose tolerance.


    SUMMARY
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Relationship between body fat...
 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Our understanding of the role of obesity, insulin resistance and {beta}-cell function in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease processes including type 2 diabetes has progressed in recent years. The new understanding of the relationships between body fat distribution and insulin sensitivity, and insulin sensitivity and {beta}-cell function has explained some of the observed diversity in metabolic parameters by clarifying how adiposity contributes to insulin resistance and has reemphasized the importance of {beta}-cell dysfunction to hyperglycemia. Ultimately, this information should allow us to develop approaches that may change these parameters appropriately to improve human health.


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
The support of all our collaborators and technicians over the years who have made this work possible is gratefully acknowledged.


    FOOTNOTES
 
1 Presented at the symposium, Nutritional and Metabolic Diversity: Understanding the Basis of Biologic Variance in the Obesity/Diabetes/Cardiovascular Disease Connection, given at Experimental Biology 2000, April 15–19, 2000 in San Diego, CA. This symposium was sponsored by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and was supported by an educational grant from Dairy Management, Incorporated. The proceedings of this conference are published as a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition. Guest editors for the supplement publication were Brian W. Tobin, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, GA and Gregory D. Miller, Dairy Management, Incorporated, Rosemont, IL. Back

2 Supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants DK-02654, DK-17047, DK-31170, DK-35816, AG-06581, AG-08673, HL-30086 and RR-37 and the Medical Research Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Back


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 Insulin sensitivity as a...
 Defective {beta}-cell function...
 SUMMARY
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