How insulin resistance impacts women: Doctor explains its link with PMOS, weight gain, and chronic fatigue

Do you feel tired by 3 pm even after a full night’s sleep? Do you gain weight even when you eat healthy foods? You might have insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that helps sugar enter your cells for energy. With insulin resistance, this doesn’t work well. Your body then produces more insulin to move sugar into cells, but it still remains in your blood rather than being used for energy. You feel tired and hungry, and you store fat, especially around your belly. This problem can lead to conditions like PCOS (now called PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome), Type 2 diabetes, and fatty liver.

Does insulin resistance cause PMOS?

Insulin resistance is a major cause of PMOS and affects 70–95% of people with this condition, as per The Lancet. When the body resists insulin, it leads to high insulin levels, known as hyperinsulinemia. This causes the ovaries to make too much testosterone, which disrupts ovulation and leads to common PMOS symptoms. Managing insulin levels is essential for treatment. “High insulin levels can cause the body to produce excess androgen, which can stop women from ovulating and can cause problems like irregular periods and acne“, clinical nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil tells Health Shots.

• Impact on weight gain: Insulin resistance can lead to abdominal weight gain. It can also affect health. When insulin levels are high, it is easier to store fat and harder to lose weight. This can be really frustrating for women with insulin resistance. If left unaddressed, it can lead to metabolic problems over time. Insulin resistance makes it hard to lose weight.
• Effect on energy and fatigue: Women with insulin resistance often feel tired. This is because their cells cannot properly absorb glucose. When cells cannot absorb glucose, the body has trouble making energy. This makes women feel tired and less productive. Insulin resistance can affect life. Women with insulin resistance might feel foggy-headed. Tired all the time.
• Managing and reversing insulin resistance: Women can do so by eating a diet rich in low-glycemic foods, protein, healthy fats, and fibre, and by engaging in regular exercise, especially strength training. Exercise helps muscles use glucose effectively, managing stress, and getting sleep are also important, Dr Patil shares.

How to fix insulin resistance?

Improving insulin resistance in women is doable with specific lifestyle changes:

• Focus on cutting down refined carbohydrates and sugar, doing regular strength training, and managing stress.
• Losing just 5–10% of body weight can help reverse insulin resistance, as per the Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome.
• Important strategies include eating high-fibre, anti-inflammatory foods and trying intermittent fasting, such as the 16:8 method, to lower insulin levels.