Insulin Resistance Is Not Necessarily an Essential Component of Type 2 Diabetes¹

Insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion are usually present in patients with classic type 2 diabetes as well as in most people with impaired glucose tolerance (1, 2). Both play important roles not only in determining whether diabetes occurs, but also in determining the magnitude of the accompanying hyperglycemia and other metabolic abnormalities The vast majority of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese. As obesity causes insulin resistance (5, 6), it is easy to understand why insulin resistance would be so commonly involved.