We know too much body fat can increase our risk for diabetes and heart disease, not to mention our pant size. But just when it seems we know everything there is to know about dastardly fat, new research shows it may not be a black-and-white issue after all — but rather, a brown-and-white one.
It’s long been known that babies are born with two kinds of fat, known as white and brown fat. White fat is the kind most of us are familiar with — big, oily droplets that accumulate around our bodies and store energy. Brown fat, in contrast, is primarily located in small quantities around the neck and upper back, and is metabolically active. When stimulated, brown fat burns calories and white fat, generating heat. Thus, babies need brown fat because they need help staying warm.
Researchers have only recently discovered that adults also retain some deposits of brown fat. Why is this important? New studies have uncovered a variety of healthful benefits associated with brown fat, such as a reduced risk of obesity and diabetes and improved blood sugar control. The more brown fat a person has, the greater the benefits seem to be. So it’s no surprise that leaner adults have higher levels of brown fat than overweight adults.
Since being cold is known to activate brown fat, the National Institutes of Health recently conducted a study and found that a group of men sleeping in a 66-degree room for a month nearly doubled their stores of brown fat. They also burned a few more calories throughout the day and their insulin sensitivity improved.
But before you start cranking down the A/C, the long-term benefits remain to be seen. Researchers say potential brown fat-based treatments are still 10 years away; until then, the only things you should cool are your heels.