Why does a lack of insulin lead to weight loss?

Why does a lack of insulin lead to weight loss?

Insulin is an essential hormone that your pancreas makes and your body needs in order to use the food you eat for energy. It does this by taking glucose (a form of energy that’s mainly from carbohydrates you eat) out of your bloodstream and moving it into cells throughout your body. Your cells then use the glucose for energy and store any excess in your liver, muscles and fat tissue. Your cells and your body need energy to survive.

If you have Type 1 diabetes and don’t have enough insulin, your body starts breaking down fat and muscle for energy because it can’t access glucose. The glucose then stays in your bloodstream, causing high blood sugar. No matter how much you eat, your body and cells are essentially starving because they can’t use the energy from the food you eat. This leads to a decrease in overall body weight. However, this type of weight loss is very dangerous and has severe health consequences.

If the lack of insulin is persistent, it can lead to severe dehydration, which also causes weight loss in the form of water loss. This is also a dangerous form of weight loss.

A lack of insulin and the elevated blood sugar it causes can lead to several short- and long-term complications and can even cause death.