Metabolic Flexibility

Metabolic flexibility is your body’s ability to switch efficiently between burning carbohydrates and fats for energy. When you are metabolically flexible, your body can easily adapt to different situations — burning carbs after a meal and switching to fat during a fast or exercise. Poor metabolic flexibility is linked to weight gain, insulin resistance, and difficulty losing weight.

Metabolic flexibility refers to the capacity of skeletal muscle mitochondria to switch substrate oxidation from predominantly lipid oxidation in the fasting state to glucose oxidation in the insulin-stimulated fed state. This is measured by the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) change between fasted and fed/insulin-stimulated conditions. Metabolic inflexibility, first described by Kelley et al. (1999), is characterised by impaired glucose uptake and reduced lipid oxidation capacity, and is a hallmark of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Improving metabolic flexibility through diet, exercise, and weight loss can enhance your body’s ability to burn fat and maintain a healthy weight. Dr Joseph Wang at Accord Medical Clinic can help you understand and improve your metabolic health through personalised medical weight management.