Black African men with early type 2 diabetes have similar muscle, liver and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity to white European men despite lower visceral fat.

Our data suggest that in type 2 diabetes there are no ethnic differences in whole body, skeletal muscle, hepatic and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity between black and white men, despite differences in visceral adipose tissue, and that impaired lipolysis may not be contributing to skeletal muscle insulin resistance in men of black African ethnicity.