Insulin tolerance describes how effectively peripheral tissues respond to insulin to lower circulating glucose, and it is the physiological counterpart of insulin sensitivity; its impairment defines insulin resistance. When skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue respond normally, a given amount of insulin produc…
Insulin tolerance describes how effectively peripheral tissues respond to insulin to lower circulating glucose, and it is the physiological counterpart of insulin sensitivity; its impairment defines insulin resistance. When skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue respond normally, a given amount of insulin produces an appropriate fall in blood glucose, whereas reduced responsiveness forces compensatory hyperinsulinaemia and predisposes to the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Tolerance can be quantified directly through dynamic procedures such as the insulin tolerance test and the hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp, or estimated using surrogate indices derived from fasting glucose and insulin. Research in this area focuses on distinguishing insulin-sensitive from insulin-resistant obese individuals, evaluating the accuracy of surrogate indices, and examining how adipose tissue inflammation, fatty-acid supplementation, and the molecular interplay between glucose and insulin signalling shape tissue responsiveness. Beta-cell capacity is also relevant, since insulin secretion and insulin action are jointly assessed when characterising glucose tolerance. Accurate measurement of insulin tolerance supports diagnosis, risk stratification, and evaluation of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions intended to restore normal insulin action and forestall progression to overt diabetes and its cardiometabolic complications.
5 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 5 articles above have been cited 23 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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