Brown Fat May Protect Against Diabetes and Obesity in Humans
A new study in 12 men with and without brown fat has shown for the first time that when activated by mild exposure to cold, brown fat increases blood glucose disposal, insulin sensitivity, and energy expenditure in humans.
Interventions to activate brown fat or induce “browning” of more abundant white fat, “brown adipose issue will likely emerge as a therapeutic target in the battle against obesity and diabetes,” according to the researchers.
The work showed that following several hours of exposure to mild cold, the resting energy expenditure — the number of calories a person would burn in 24 hours if they were at rest — in the men with brown fat increased by 15% compared with when they were in a comfortable ambient temperature.
Think about this: exposure to a lower temperature for several hours causes your body to produce more of a kind of fat that is protective against obesity, diabetes and energy expenditure!!
In addition, their glucose metabolism was revved up, such that if brown fat remained activated, it would burn up 23 g of glucose in 24 hours.
“We have shown a physiologically, clinically significant effect of brown fat on whole-body glucose homeostasis, and this means that brown fat may function as an antiobesity and antidiabetic tissue in humans…[which] is great news,” senior author Labros S. Sidossis, MD, of the University of Texas, in Galveston, told Medscape Medical News. If confirmed, this research hints that keeping ambient room temperature closer to 70°F for even a couple of hours might have significant effects on blood glucose regulation, he said.
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