Insulin, insulin resistance and anthropometric parameters in overweight and obese women

Abstract

Insulin resistance together with obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia is part of the cluster that represents the metabolic syndrome. The impaired insulin sensitivity has been reported to be linked with obesity; however the importance of the fat distribution has also been emphasized in the development of this disorder. The aim of our study was to determine to association of serum insulin and insulin resistance assessed by HOMA with anthropometric parameters in obese and overweight women. Also the correlation of insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) with the subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat was evaluated. The study included 41 overweight and obese women, aged 20- 60 years. The anthropometric parameters like body mass index (BMI), waist, hip and thigh circumference were measured with standard methods. Abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue (SFT) and visceral fat tissue (VFT) were determined by ultrasonography. Insulin values were measured with radioimmunoassay and the insulin resistance was assessed by the HOMA2 method. The results of our study showed strong correlation of insulin and HOMA-IR with BMI (r 0.36, p<0.01). The median and mean values of these parameters were much higher in subjects with obesity grade 2 and 3. The insulin concentrations and HOMA-IR also showed good correlation with waist and hip circumference and with the subcutaneous fat tissue (p<0.05). The results of our study point to the fact that in addition to the total body fat accumulation, the role of the subcutaneous fat tissue in the development of insulin resistance in overweight and obese Macedonian women should not be underestimated. Key words: insulin resistance, subcutaneous fat, visceral fa