Climate change fuels increasing temperatures. The WMO reports that 2025 is part of the warmest years with an average of 1.42 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial era. This isn’t a good thing, considering that there are a great deal of health consequences from higher temperatures. One of those health consequences is insulin resistance, which is less well-known to be impacted. Insulin resistance occurs when the body cannot respond to insulin properly. This is so important because insulin plays a part in moving glucose into the cells, meaning that a tolerance to insulin will lead to higher glucose levels and even worse problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, liver disease, and many more.
Heat stresses the body and starts the fight or flight response. This leads to the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Cortisol can increase blood sugar, and if the body does not respond to that, it will remain elevated. Since adrenaline makes cells less responsive to insulin, which regulates these blood sugar levels, it means that they will remain elevated. This leads to insulin resistance because the pancreas tries to compensate for the reduced responsiveness of the cells to insulin by increasing insulin (hyperinsulinemia), but it only keeps the cycle going of more insulin needed until the pancreas cannot keep up any more. The continued high blood sugar level will just keep increasing from this result, and the cells themselves will just be more resistant to insulin, worsening insulin resistance.
There are other ways that higher temperatures can lead to insulin resistance, such as the dilating of blood vessels and dehydration. When the blood vessels are dilated, it is easier for insulin to be absorbed, which increases the risk of hyperinsulinemia. Dehydration can also lead to insulin resistance because less water means the glucose is more concentrated, which means that blood sugar levels are likely to be consistently high. Even the smallest change in temperature is significant, meaning that increasing temperatures is only going to make insulin resistance easier to have and worsen. However, the impacts of high temperature on insulin primarily affect those with diabetes more severely because they already struggle with regulating glucose. In order to stay healthy and prevent this problem, it is important to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and be aware of the heat. Checking what the temperature or weather is can help determine what to do in order to stay cool and not overheat.
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