New Breakthrough In Obesity Fight: Brown Fat!

Tweet

Researchers may have found a new weapon in the war on weight -- brown fat. While brown fat sounds like something most dieters would work hard to shed, the substance actually works to help our bodies burn calories rather than store them. Some experts are equating brown fat to "baby fat." And while it's cute and accepted on a pudgy little child it may actually be a desired addition for adults. I'll leave the science to the scientists, but the bottom line, according to the Washington Post, seems to be "the only safe way to activate brown fat is to stay chilly, right at the verge of shivering, for prolonged periods. That reproduces the conditions that led to the evolution of brown fat -- namely, life-threatening cold in babies and small furry animals that cannot put on clothes to keep themselves warm." Francesco S. Celi, a metabolism researcher at the National Institutes of Health, whose commentary accompanies the studies, says, "This is a tissue whose sole physiological purpose is to expend energy. That makes it an ideal target for drugs or other measures designed to make it more active." Read the Washington Post feature here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/08/AR2009040804290.html?hpid=topnews


Author: John McGran

Archived posts 2009

Tweet