- Vascular insulin resistance is a feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Lifestyle changes can change how blood vessels respond to insulin.
- But the effectiveness of these changes differ for women and men.
Short-term lifestyle changes such as moving less and drinking more sugary beverages can disrupt how the blood vessels respond to insulin, with men and women reacting differently, a new study found.
Insulin helps blood glucose (sugar) move into the cellsTrusted Source, where it can be used for energy. This hormone also causes blood vessels to widen, which increases the flow of blood — along with insulin and glucose — to the tissues.
Insulin resistance in the blood vessels impairs this process, leading to less glucose being moved into the cells of the affected tissues.
This vascular insulin resistance, as it’s called, is a feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes. It is also thought to occur before whole-body insulin resistance develops.
