Brown (Fat) is the new BLACK.

by

Please to enjoy Liz and her by-request guest post.

I longed for a post on brown fat. I haveth not the sciencewritingskillz to create the blog post on brown fat.

I tweeted Liz & thankfully she responded.

Brown is the new black

Brown fat that is.

So what’s the buzz on brown fat? And is it the new weight loss panacea for the masses?

What you need to know…

In mammals, fat (known among the medical set as “adipose tissue”) comes in two varieties: white and brown.

* White adipose tissue (or “WAT”)  is used for energy storage and to provide warmth. It also protects the organs by acting as a cushion. Most of the fat in our bodies is white.
* Brown adipose tissue (or “BAT”), is mostly found in newborns and tends to diminish as a person ages.  Brown fat is used by the body to regulate temperature and quickly burns sugar to keep infants warm, meaning that exposure to cold activates brown fat cells. This last point may be important when it comes to weight loss.

For decades, brown fat was believed to significantly decline as we grew older, mainly because as we become more able to regulate our body temperatures, we no longer solely rely on biology.  However, PET scanning has shown that healthy adults actually have stores of brown fat  scattered throughout the front and back of the neck and chest areas.

So, is brown fat an equal opportunist? NO!

In fact:

* Women with lean body mass have at least twice the ratio of brown fat compared to men.
* Exposure to temperatures of around 61º F appears to kick off brown fat cell activity, at least in leaner people.
* The higher your body mass index (BMI), the lower the amount of brown fat in your body.

Turning down the thermostat can help lose weight, right?

Well yes. And no.

In controlled situations, volunteers left “chilling” for at least two hours were shown to have a surge in brown fat activity.

However, keep in mind that the body is fine-tuned to maintain equilibrium, so, what goes out often goes right back in.

In otherwords, expend more energy, eat more food. And the “chill factor” hasn’t been extensively tested in people under normal, everyday conditions. Still, based on what researchers are able to learn from animal studies, they believe that having as little as 1 to 2 ounces of brown fat in your body could potentially burn about 20% of the average daily caloric intake, that is, if brown fat cells were properly activated.

Meanwhile, researchers are looking into how brown fat can be used to treat obesity.  Already, Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered ways to actually engineer human and mouse cells to produce brown fat, that, when transplanted, has the ability to burn excess calorie energy typically stored in white fat cells.

The bottom line

Unless you’re keen on running out and getting a PET scan, there’s no standard way to determine how much brown fat you are carrying around or if sitting in a cold room is going to help you lose weight.

Brown may be the new black. But the designers are still working on coming up with the patterns that are going to work best for most people.

Liz Scherer is a medical/health writer, reporter and digital maven.

Her work has appeared in Myslexia, Book Magazine, McCall’s and various other women’s magazines, journals, wires and websites. Her blog, Flashfree, which focuses on issues relevant to midlife and menopause, is consistently rated as one of the top women’s health blogs. She is also a monthly contributor to Disruptive Women in Healthcare and Women Grow Business.

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Comments

  1. Very interesting. I remember reading a little about brown fat while I was looking up adipose tissue.

    Two types of fat, two types of skeletal muscle fibres 🙂

  2. Wow!
    Sorry I have NEVER heard of this…but am writing it down in my book of things I want to learn more about.

    Thanks Miz & Liz(ha that sounds cute! LOL)
    Have an awesome day!

  4. OH my gosh. I know what’s wrong with me! I’m abnormally cold all the time, even been testing for this anomaly with no good answer.

    I think I’m low on brown fat. (seriously) My intolerance to even mild cold temps is chilling to me. ARGH! (and thanks for this post)

  6. Wow, very interesting. Thanks for sharing this. Had heard very little about this and it’s nice to have more in-depth info.

    • I learned something new, too, Joanna. If given 5 huge princess stickers by the Ren Man the Tornado will loving share one with me.
      and proclaim that I look just like Snow White.

      huh.

  7. I started reading about brown fat a couple years ago & it took on steam recently. All very interesting but I will keep eating healthy & exercising while they keep finding new stuff to research. Not getting a PET scan anytime soon… I hope! 🙂

    Love your last statement: Brown may be the new black. But the designers are still working on coming up with the patterns that are going to work best for most people.

    Thx for the info.

  8. Hmm…is that why my husband insists that we can’t turn the heat on yet even though it is COLD here!?! Ha!

    Interesting explanation. I’ve wondered about brown fat.

  9. Like Jody’s comment: while researchers keep coming up with new ways to (IMHO) cheat at losing weight, those of us with a little sense are doing what people have always done–that is, eating what we’re supposed to eat (in the proper quantities) and doing what we’re supposed to do (i.e. MOVE!). Does anyone else get a little pissed off about the possibility that people too (ahem) unmotivated to put time and effort into health might leapfrog us the devoted exercisers/healthy eaters in terms of looking “fit”?

    But this one’s new for me. White fat and brown fat? I’ve seen the inside of a human, and I saw some of the white fat. Believe me, not pretty. I’d be curious to know how the brown fat looks (and if it’s equally grotesque).

  11. WAT?!
    haha…sorry, couldn’t resist.
    In response to comment number 12, I remember brown fat when dissecting a cat in college. I thought I’d discovered spam.

  13. This is so fascinating! I’d love to learn more about it.

    Jamie- the thing is, even if people LOOK fit, they aren’t actually going to BE fit. And I have to say, I take some satisfaction when, even though I look small and not very strong, I can pump out more push ups than a muscly guy who works out all the time. We just need to really understand that it’s what we know about ourselves that matters, not the assumptions that other people make (though, obviously, that can be very difficult!)

  17. Fascinating! Although I have to echo Geosomin – I’m freeeezing 24/7 (when I’m not preggers). I wonder what that says about my fat distribution?

  18. I sit 8 hours a day in an office that closely resembles a meat locker. Where is my weight loss? Tee hee. I must have lost all my brown fat when I lost weight. I used to LOVE cold offices and now I use a space heater. 😛

  19. Wow. Science. My head is spinning. Interesting stuff, though. I never would have thought there were difference in fats like this!

  21. This is really interesting. I di dnot know about brown fat at all.. It shows what a great site you have here, with information that people are looking for. I’ll be around more often to learn more from you.
    Thanks!

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