The Effect of a High-Fat Diet on Glucose, Insulin Sensitivity and Plasma Insulin in Rats

SUMMARY The influence of the diet on the levels of insulin was studied in rats on a high-fat diet. Plasma and glucose insulin concentrations of a control group and of rats on a high-fat diet were compared, and so was the insulin concentration in the pancreas of the two groups. The mean plasma insulin concentration in the control group was 40 μ-u./ml. and that of insulin extracted from the pancreas was 2·5 μg./100 mg. tissue; plasma glucose was 156 mg./100 ml. The animals fed on a high-fat diet showed diabetic features. The mean plasma insulin level was 9 μ-u./ml., and plasma glucose increased to 210 mg./100 ml. The insulin concentration in the pancreas was not significantly different from that in the controls. In vitro the epididymal fat and the diaphragm of the high-fat-diet group were less sensitive to insulin than the same tissues in the control group.