From the skin cells of humans and mice, scientists have successfully made brown fat, the kind that burns white fat by producing heat and is possessed in the greatest quantities by babies. The study, published in Nature, could potentially lead to a way to help overweight and obese people slim down.
Brown fat was once thought to be found only in children, but earlier this year researchers confirmed that adults also have a small amount of brown adipose tissue. In 2007, researchers discovered that a protein called PRDM16 made immature muscle cells turn into brown fat. In the new Nature study, the same team of scientists found that PRDM16, in combination with a second protein produced in muscle cells, is the master switch for brown fat cells and will also convert skin cells into brown fat, even though this is not the process nature intended. [Scientists] used this master switch to convert mouse skin cells to brown fat cells, which seem to work as expected when transplanted into normal mice [The New York Times]. The next step is to implant brown fat into obese mice to see if they lose weight; that will provide evidence that the discovery might be used outside of the lab.
Unlike white fat, which can store energy, brown fat contains energy-producing mitochondria that use glucose to produce heat (the iron-rich mitochondria also give the tissue its brown hue). Brown fat keeps an organism from shivering by producing its own heat–and burning an astonishing number of calories in the process. Not surprisingly, studies have found that leaner adults tend to have more of this fat than heavier ones, and the ability to “make” brown fat could hold promise for weight-loss therapies. One approach would be to take a batch of skin cells from an actual patient, “treat” it with the [two-protein] combination, then inject it back into the patient with the hope that it would promote the creation of brown fat. Another possibility would be to create a drug that would make brown fat. “That’s a more conventional route” [HealthDay News], said lead author Bruce Spiegelman.
Still, any potential obesity remedy that would stem from the discovery is years away. [H]umans evolved to conserve energy, not waste it, and so far our clever bodies have managed to foil nearly all of scientists’ attempts to treat obesity [Wired.com]. Therefore, the metabolism of people who make extra brown fat could slow down, or they might eat more to make up for the extra calories the brown fat burns. Says endocrinologist Francisco Celi: “It’s a very sound and solid study…. In the long run, this could be a strategy. But from this data to the clinic, there is a long, long time” [Wired.com].
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Image: flickr / PicsmaKer
July 30th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
This is a wonderful discovery. Obesity is running rampant in the US, especially among our children. When one considers all the terrible physical effects those extra pounds put on the system, I hope that more research is done regarding brown fat.
Something must be done to stop the fattening of the US. Obviously, restraint is hard to come by, especially with the popularity (and admittedly great tasting) typical fat filled diet of the average person.
A very important and intriguing read!
July 30th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
And even the processed health food is pretty much junk.
My fiancée loves those shows on discovery channel about obese folk. You know what they all claim? “I don’t eat too much.”
July 31st, 2009 at 7:18 am
Eat better food, do more Sports. Drugs would be awesome. But to be honest if you eat crap you get unhealthy and to teach people how to eat smart could be enough… I lost about 110 pounds myself and when looking back I think it wasn’t that hard.And I do not eat less, just more healthy and stopped spending days doing nothing.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:06 am
Obesity won’t be cured until Americans stop treating food as a substitute for intimacy (and not necessarily sexual intimacy) and for self-validation.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I think the best way to burn fat is doing the right exercises and eating the right foods.
January 20th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
We knew that weight loss and diet is a big industry but if new products keep coming each and every single day, it may confuse the consumer.
For me, the traditional way is the best method. EXERCISE
January 21st, 2010 at 4:04 pm
The key to successful weight loss is a healthy diet a moderate amount of exercise and maybe even a dietary supplement to help move things along
June 5th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
My sister, who is a nurse, was an overweight. This harmed her in her work … and also for her self-esteem. She followed and tried full of schemes, methods or tricks to lose weight; without success.
Until she came across this ad on the Internet. It changed her life for the better! … Her new problem now is to renew her wardrobe. All her clothes are suddenly become too large for her. She is really happy about her discovery and she is really in good shape!
This is another proof that we should never give up.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Honestly, unless you have some form of thyroid problem, there is no real excuse for being overweight. It is all a matter of calories in versus calories out – eat less than you burn on a daily basis and you will lose weight. It’s called thermodynamics. End of story.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:37 am
Pretty well written, and also your points are very close to my own. Regards.
September 9th, 2010 at 5:36 am
I recently increased my meal frequency to 6 small meals a day. I used tapering where your first meal is the largest, your last meal of the day is your smallest, the last meal contains no carbs only protein and veg. Just following this method I have lost 4 lbs in a week!
The information is out there is you really want to lose weight, you just got to find it.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:12 am
I need a rough guide on how much to eat, how many times a day to eat, and what to eat. Im trying to lose about 15 pounds.
April 20th, 2011 at 5:50 am
That’s all for lazy people! They want to reinvent the bike and and do not want to move from one place. It would be better if they knew about healthy weight loss systems. Enough to do experiments.
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August 12th, 2011 at 9:42 am
There isn’t a “magic bullet” for weight control. Rather, a variety of specific nutritional factors each exercise a small result on body weight, and eventually growing outcomes of modest modifications to day-to-day calorie balance result in gaining weight and obesity.