India, Jan. 22 -- Insulin resistance doesn't appear overnight, nor does it begin with a diabetes diagnosis. It is often fuelled quietly by everyday habits - from how we eat and move to how we sleep and manage stress - and can build for years before blood tests raise red flags. Long before glucose levels or HbA1c numbers turn abnormal, the body often sends subtle warning signs that something is off metabolically. Recognising these early signals can open the door to timely lifestyle changes and help prevent insulin resistance from progressing to type 2 diabetes.

Dr Kunal Sood, an anaesthesiologist and interventional pain medicine physician, has outlined five early signs of insulin resistance that can appear long before lab results show abn...