Insulin Insulin Insulin (from Latin "insula", island) is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets; it is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of carbohydrates, especially glucose from the blood into liver, fat and skeletal muscle cells. In these tissues the absorbed glucose is converted into either glycogen via glycogenesis or fats (triglycerides) via lipogenesis, or, in the case of the liver, into both. Glucose production and secretion by the liver is strongly inhibited by high concentrations of insulin in
Insulin resistance associated with excess body weight. A possible explanation is that both insulin resistance and obesity often have the same cause, systematic overeating, which has the potential to lead to insulin resistance and obesity due to repeated administration of excess levels of glucose, which stimulate insulin secretion; excess levels of fructose, which raise triglyceride levels in the bloodstream; and fats, which may be absorbed easily by the adipose cells, and tend to end up as fatty tissue in a hypercaloric diet. Some scholars go as far as to claim that neither insulin resistance, nor obesity really are metabolic disorders "per se",