Key result
Cold exposure in adult men increased metabolism by an average of 80% over warm levels, demonstrating that human brown adipose tissue is metabolically active.
Why the study?
Does cold exposure increase brown fat metabolism in adult humans?
Does cold exposure increase brown fat metabolism in adult humans?
Highlights evidence that adult human brown fat is metabolically active and combusts calories upon cold exposure, suggesting a potential role in obesity prevention.
That adult humans possess brown fat is now accepted - but is the brown fat metabolically active? Does human brown fat actually combust fat to release heat? In this issue of the JCI, Ouellet et al. demonstrate that metabolism in brown fat really is increased when adult humans are exposed to cold. This boosts the possibility that calorie combustion in brown fat may be of significance for our metabolism and, correspondingly, that the absence of brown fat may increase our proneness to obesity - provided that brown fat becomes activated not only by cold but also through food-related stimuli.
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Cannon et al. (2012) conducted an editorial in Healthy adults (n=6). Cold exposure vs. Warm conditions was evaluated on Metabolic rate (80% increase). Cold exposure in adult men increased metabolism by an average of 80% over warm levels, demonstrating that human brown adipose tissue is metabolically active.
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