Glossary
Insulin sensitivity.
Direct answer
Insulin sensitivity describes how strongly muscle, fat and liver tissue respond to the hormone insulin by taking up glucose from the blood. When that response weakens, research speaks of insulin resistance: the pancreas compensates at first with greater insulin output, so blood glucose can stay unremarkable for a long time.
A single fasting value says little about insulin sensitivity, because the system works dynamically. Profiles measured after a defined challenge with sugar or insulin are far more informative. Looking at blood glucose alone misses the quiet phase in which a rising insulin concentration hides a tissue response that is already fading.
In horses, insulin regulation sits at the centre of research on equine metabolic syndrome, and the role of pasture grass and starch-rich rations is studied intensively. In humans, body composition, physical activity and dietary patterns dominate the picture. The measurement methods resemble one another; the reference ranges and the drivers do not.
The evidence letter
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