Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr. 2017;64(4):211---220 www.elsevier.es/endo Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición ORIGINAL ARTICLE Insulin resistance and -cell function in Colombian mestizo and Embera-Chamí populations and their relation with adiposity degree María Antonieta Caro-Gomez a,* , Andrés Naranjo-González a,b , María Victoria Parra-Marín a,c , Natalia Gallego-Lopera a,d , Diana María Valencia a,d , Diana Carolina Rúa-Molina b,e , Javier Rosique-Gracia f , Andres Felipe García-Pineda f , Luis Felipe Gómez-Isaza e , Norman Diego Pizano-Ramírez g , Edgar Gerardo Arcos h , Alberto Villegas-Perrasse i , Julieta Duque-Botero b,e , Gabriel Bedoya-Berrío a a Research Group on Molecular Genetics (GENMOL), Institute of Biology, School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Universidad de Antioquia --- UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellin, Colombia b Thrombosis Group, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad de Antioquia --- UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellin, Colombia c CBATA Group, Tecnológico de Antioquia-Institución Universitaria (Tech University Institution) --- TdeA, Calle 78B No 72A-220, Medellin, Colombia d Biology Systems Group, School of Medicine, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Calle 78B No. 72A-109, Medellin, Colombia e Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad de Antioquia --- UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellin, Colombia f Environment and Society Group --- MASO, Department of Anthropology, School of Social and Human Sciences, Universidad de Antioquia --- UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellin, Colombia g Posthumous, Clinica Medellin, Medellin, Colombia h Obesity and Metabolism Center Foundation (Fundación Centro de Obesidad y Metabolismo, COMETA), Research Division, Cra 33 No 12A-44, Pasto, Colombia i Endocrino S.A., Calle 7 No 39-197, Medellin, Colombia Received 20 September 2016; accepted 21 February 2017 Available online 4 April 2017 KEYWORDS Insulin resistance; Obesity; Amerindians; Admixed population Abstract Background and objective: Insulin resistance (IR) is a condition favored by metabolic and endocrine changes experienced by adipose tissue in the context of obesity. The prevalence and the presentation of both IR and obesity vary among the populations, and may be affected by ancestral genetic composition among other factors. The aim of this study was to compare the presence of IR and obesity in Amerindians of the Embera-Chamí ethnicity and Colombian mestizo population. ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: mariaantonietac@gmail.com (M.A. Caro-Gomez). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.endinu.2017.02.011 2530-0164/© 2017 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espa˜ na, S.L.U. All rights reserved.