what is brown fat? There are two kinds of fat — brown fat and white fat. While we all are familiar with the normal white fat, which stores energy and leads to obesity, brown fat does the opposite – it burns the calories in order to keep the body temperature normal. Scientists previously thought adults do not have brown fat. However, new research shows that adults do have brown fat and this fat can be used to fight obesity
Function of Brown Fat:
Brown fat maintains the body temperature by burning the calories. Brown fat is present in mammals such as rodents throughout their lives, it is also present in newborns and is lost as they grow. Scientists thought that brown fat becomes non-existent in adults. However, a team of scientists lead by Dr. C. Ronald Kahn of Joslin Diabetes Center found out that adults do have brown fat.
Study – brown fat and metablolism:
A team of scientists from several institutions in Boston measured brown fat using positron-emission tomography (PET-CT) in about 2000 men and women. Among 1013 women, 76 of them had brown fat (7.6%) and among 959 men, 30 of them had brown fat (3.1%). Scientists also found out the following:
- Those who had less amount of brown fat, had high BMI. (high BMI indicates obesity)
- Those who had less brown fat were older
- Those who had more amount of brown fat were leaner, younger
Two other studies conducted in Netherlands and Sweden showed that brown fat tissue activity was higher at colder temperatures.
These studies show that brown fat which is present in adults, can play an important role in burning calories. In future, scientists can find ways to increase brown fat or stimulate it in colder temperatures to fight obesity.
