In baboons, simple morphometric measurements of adiposity/obesity, (i.e. abdominal circumference), plus baseline markers of glucose/lipid metabolism, (i.e. fasting plasma glucose and insulin) provide a feasible method to screen and identify overweight/obese insulin resistant baboons for inclusion in interventional studies aimed to study human obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This evidence concerns the gene INS and type 2 diabetes mellitus.