Brown Fat Research May Lead To New Diet Pill

Exciting news from three studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine last week on the presence and activity of brown fat in human adults, it has long been thought that brown fat was only relevant in small mammals and human infants. The fact that the researchers found brown fat in adults and that it was metabolically active was an extraordinary find, and may lead to a treatment of obesity.

Brown adipose tissue (called brown fat) helps infants; young children and small mammals stay warm by burning calories when activated by the cold. Infant are unable to shiver to stay warm as adults do, so brown fat is very important at that stage of development. Scientists have always known that adults retained some brown fat but they thought the amounts were small and not active.

The first study published was Cold-Activated Brown Adipose Tissue in Healthy Men by Wouter D. van Marken Lichtenbelt, Ph.D., Joost W. Vanhommerig, M.S., Nanda M. Smulders, M.D., Jamie M.A.F.L. Drossaerts, B.S., Gerrit J. Kemerink, Ph.D., Nicole D. Bouvy, M.D., Ph.D., Patrick Schrauwen, Ph.D., and G.J. Jaap Teule, M.D., Ph.D. They studied 24 healthy men 10 who were of healthy weight and 14 who were overweight or obese at warm then mild cold temperature exposure with the aid of integrated 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography and computed tomography. Body composition and energy expenditure were measured with the use of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and indirect calorimetry

They were able to determine that 23 of the 24 subjects had brown fat activity in mild cold temperatures and not under warm temperatures and that the activity was a lot lower in the overweight or obese subjects. In conclusion the percentage of young men with brown fat is high, but the activity of the brown fat is greatly reduced in men that are overweight or obese.

This, say the researchers, suggests brown fat plays an important role in regulating body weight and that higher levels of brown fat may protect against obesity.
Researcher Professor Ronald Kahn said: “There has been a long debate as to whether brown fat exists in adult humans and whether it was important physiologically.

“This study demonstrates that it is both present and appears to be physiologically important in terms of body weight and glucose metabolism.

“We hope this opens up a new therapeutic area for obesity and type 2 diabetes by modifying the activity of brown fat.”
Professor Kahn’s team has already shown that a protein, BMP-7, known for its role in inducing bone growth, can also help promote the development of brown fat in rodents.
Professor John Wilding of Liverpool University and the Association for the Study of Obesity said: “This is interesting research but it will not create a miracle pill for obesity.

“Even if we can activate brown fat production, which is still a long way off, the effects are likely to be modest.

“But it may help in some circumstances. And part of the reason some people are slim may be down to having more brown fat tissue.”

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