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Brown fat, a type of body fat found around the neck, shoulders and heart, may protect against chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, and even obesity, new research shows.
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Previous studies have shown that brown fat helps us stay warm in cold weather by burning energy.
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Scientists still don’t fully understand how brown fat works or why some people have more of it, but more research may help capitalize on it.
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While many people decide to lose body fat after the holidays, new research suggests that not all body fat is created equal. In fact, some can have significant health benefits.
A certain type of fat called brown fat may have a protective effect against chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published Jan. 4 in Nature Medicine.
Researchers at Rockefeller University examined the medical scans of more than 52,000 patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center between 2009 and 2018.
They found that people who had detectable levels of brown fat were less likely to have chronic illnesses or health risks. Type 2 diabetes, for example, was found in just 4.6% of people with brown fat, but in 9.5% of people without brown fat. Likewise, people with brown fat tended to have better cholesterol levels than people without fat.
This confirms previous research suggesting that brown fat may be protective in some way.
The researchers also found that brown fat appeared to alleviate some of the negative health effects of obesity (or a high percentage of overall body fat) such as metabolic issues and heart problems.
The study showed that obese patients with brown fat had much lower rates of these medical problems, comparable to their non-obese peers.
“It almost looks like they’re protected from the harmful effects of white fat,” said Dr. Paul Cohen, lead study author and senior attending physician at Rockefeller University Hospital, in a press release. “These results make us more confident about the potential for targeting brown fat for therapeutic benefit.”
This type of fat could burn calories and protect our body
Most of the time when people refer to body fat, they are referring to the more common white fat that stores excess calories energy. While white fat is stored in the belly, around the organs, and under the skin, brown fat tends to collect around the neck and heart.
Experts believe that brown fat acts as a protective layer to keep us warm. Previous research has explored the possible benefits of brown fat for generating heat in cold weather. In doing so, it can also burn a lot of calories and help prevent obesity.
The researchers also hypothesized that brown fat could also burn glucose for energy, which could explain why it appears to help stabilize blood sugar and prevent diabetes.
Brown fat is still a mystery
However, it can be difficult to study brown fat because it requires specialized and expensive medical imaging. Using scans of patient assessments from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (which assesses brown fat to make sure it’s not a tumor), researchers were able to conduct the largest study to date. on brown fat in humans.
It’s not yet entirely clear why brown fat appears to protect against certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure. Our best guest, according to the study, is that it could affect hormonal signaling in the body, in addition to burning energy.
How do I know if I have brown fat?
With all of these benefits, researchers want to better understand how brown fat works and how to benefit from it. Everyone has brown fat, but we still don’t know why some people have more than others. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to find and does not happen in the same place in everyone.
To find out if you have brown fat, you will need a type of medical scan called a PET scan, which requires the injection of radioactive material into the body. Although this is a relatively low risk and can be useful for detecting certain diseases such as cancer, it is not recommended for otherwise healthy people.
We know a bit about who tends to have the most brown fat. Genetics likely play a major role, as does being exposed to cold temperatures, research shows.
“The natural question everyone asks is, ‘What can I do to get more brown fat? Cohen said. “We don’t have a good answer to that yet, but it will be an exciting space for scientists to explore in the years to come.”
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