Secondary failure to dietary and maximal oral treatment leads to
insulin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients. However,
weight gain is a frequent side effect of
insulin therapy in these patients. Mechanisms for this
weight gain are complex.
Insulin 1) reduces
glycosuria and its caloric expenditure; 2) stimulates the stockage of
fatty acids into
triglycerides in adipose tissue, thus favoring an increase in adipose mass; 3) yields a positive
nitrogen balance through an inhibition of muscle proteolysis, thus favoring an increase in lean mass. Most studies report an average 6 kg
weight gain during the first year following the initiation of
insulin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients. Analysing body composition variations shows that
weight gain results both from an increase in fat mass (mean 63%) and an increase in lean mass (mean 37%). Preexisting
obesity does not influence this
weight gain. Finally, the 10 year-follow up of UKPDS showed a beneficial effect of
insulin therapy on microangiopathy prevention, without increasing cardiovascular mortality as compared with type 2 diabetic patients on oral treatment. Thus, while
weight gain seems mandatory, it should not refrain from initiating
insulin therapy in poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients, as its expected beneficial effects on the prevention of microangiopathy seem well established.