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What Really Causes Insulin?
“Only about 10% of the increase in obesity can be attributed to decreased exercise, whereas about 90% is due to increased calorie consumption.”
By Dr. Barry Sears
Founder & President, Zone Labs
Published: October 15, 2025
Read Time: 10 minutes
Table of Contents
- The Problem
- The Traditional Approach
- The Metabolic Engineering Approach
- Conclusion
- References & Videos
The Problem
Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. Excess body fat is usually the first physical sign that your metabolism is disrupted and that your level of insulin resistance is rising, however, about 16 percent of normal-weight individuals have severe insulin resistance (1). Not only is obesity a chronic inflammatory condition, but it also increases the production of senescent cells that drive the aging process (2).
The physiological foundation of obesity is insulin resistance caused by decreased AMPK activity (3,4). If AMPK activity is inhibited, the burning of excess body fat in every organ is compromised, and fat stores continue to increase. However, that same inhibition of AMPK activity will also have negative consequences on your immune system, the ability to resolve inflammation, the expression of your genes, and the acceleration of aging.
Conclusion
The goal of Metabolic Engineering® is to activate AMPK in the adipose tissue. Using the Zone diet component of Metabolic Engineering® to restrict calories without hunger or fatigue is the most powerful dietary approach for increasing AMPK activity. The omega-3 fatty acid dietary component of Metabolic Engineering® reduces neuroinflammation and promotes its resolution. The polyphenol dietary component of Metabolic Engineering® reduces oxidative stress. Equally important is that the omega-3 fatty acid and polyphenol components of Metabolic Engineering® are also indirect activators of AMPK activity. Thus, combining all three dietary interventions in Metabolic Engineering® provides the optimal dietary approach to maximizing AMPK activity to metabolize stored excess body fat for energy.
An added benefit of following Metabolic Engineering® to reduce excess body fat is that it also reduces cellular senescence (7). Fat loss leads to a longer healthspan, which is the true benefit.
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