The Study
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE AND ADIPOSE INSULIN RESISTANCE.
This study looked at people who sit a lot and people who move more, and found that the ones who sit more have a harder time responding to insulin in their fat cells. But it didn’t change anyone’s habits to see what would happen—so we can’t say sitting causes the problem, just that they tend to go together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When you sit a lot, your fat cells don’t respond well to insulin’s signal to stop breaking down fat — even though they can still stop it completely if given a huge dose.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means your body can’t control fat release well after meals, leading to more fat in your blood — which can cause insulin resistance and increase diabetes risk.
- 2Sedentary people need 10 times more insulin to half-suppress fat breakdown.
- 3Their fatty acid levels stay twice as high during insulin infusion.
- 4Genes for insulin receptors are less active in their fat tissue.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Diabetes
Year
2022
Authors
D. Andersson, A. Kerr, I. Dahlman, M. Rydén, P. Arner
Related Content
Claims (6)
Insulin reduces the breakdown of stored fat into fatty acids by inhibiting an enzyme called hormone-sensitive lipase.
Sedentary people have higher levels of fatty acids in their blood during periods of elevated insulin compared to active people, even when their starting fatty acid levels are the same and their insulin levels are higher.
In sedentary people, lower activity levels are linked to reduced activity of insulin receptor proteins in fat tissue, which corresponds with decreased insulin sensitivity.
People who are physically inactive have insulin sensitivity in their fat cells that is 10 times lower than active people, leading to higher levels of fatty acids in the blood and greater risk of metabolic disease, regardless of body weight, age, sex, or existing metabolic conditions.
In people who are physically inactive, insulin can still fully stop fat breakdown, but it requires about 10 times more insulin to do so, which means the problem lies in how insulin signals at the cell surface, not in later steps of the process.
The rate at which insulin promotes fat storage in under-skin fat cells does not change based on how much a person sits, once body weight and other metabolic factors are accounted for.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.