Goodpaster & Sparks 2017, Metabolic flexibility in health and disease

Cell Metabolism 25(5):1027-1036. Review defining metabolic flexibility as the ability to respond or adapt to changes in metabolic or energy demand and the prevailing conditions, with fuel selection switching between fatty acids and glucose across the fasting-feeding and rest-exercise transitions. Frames exercise as a state demanding rapid matching of fuel supply to a large rise in energy demand, and contrasts the flexible response of healthy muscle with the inflexibility seen in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Authoritative review; moderate.