New research supports a brown fat theory that may provide scientists with a weight loss breakthrough. In mice, brown fat is tissue that burns large amounts of fat and creates significant weight loss. Until recently, scientists didn’t know if adult humans carry this fat or if it behaves the same way in human bodies that it does in mice. But a small study published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, provides new evidence that it does.
Brown adipose tissue, or BAT, is literally fat that is brown in color. The tissue has more mitochondria that standard white fat which gives it a darker color. Mitochondria are the energy production centers in the body. Unlike white fat, the mitochondria in brown fat uses fat for energy and burns larger quantities of it than other tissue.
Brown Fat Theory in Humans and Mice
In mice, studies have shown that an increase in brown fat created significant weight loss because the tissue burned substantially more fat and calories. Two things created an increase of brown fat in mice: exercise and exposure to cold air.
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