Objective
Lactate is an intermediate of glucose metabolism that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. This study evaluated the relationship between glucose kinetics and plasma lactate concentration ([LAC]) before and after manipulating insulin sensitivity by progressive weight loss.
Methods
Forty people with obesity (BMI = 37.9 ± 4.3 kg/m2) were randomized to weight maintenance (n = 14) or weight loss (n = 19). Subjects were studied before and after 6 months of weight maintenance and before and after 5%, 11%, and 16% weight loss. A hyperinsulinemic‐euglycemic clamp procedure in conjunction with [6,6‐2H2]glucose tracer infusion was used to assess glucose kinetics.
Results
At baseline, fasting [LAC] correlated positively with endogenous glucose production rate (r = 0.532; P = 0.001) and negatively with insulin sensitivity, assessed as the insulin‐stimulated glucose disposal (r = −0.361; P = 0.04). Progressive (5% through 16%) weight loss caused a progressive decrease in fasting [LAC], and the decrease in fasting [LAC] after 5% weight loss was correlated with the decrease in endogenous glucose production (r = 0.654; P = 0.002) and the increase in insulin sensitivity (r = −0.595; P = 0.007).
Conclusions
This study demonstrates the interrelationships among weight loss, hepatic and muscle glucose kinetics, insulin sensitivity, and [LAC], and it suggests that [LAC] can serve as an additional biomarker of glucose‐related insulin resistance.