Is Calorie-burning Fat Just a Myth?

Have you ever heard about “calorie-burning fat”? If not, you may wonder does it really exist or just a science fiction.

In reality, adults do have small blobs of metabolism-regulating “brown fat”, which scientists believe it exist only in babies and children. Such finding was announced in a study conducted by researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

The paper, published on in April 9, 2009’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that the brown fat or so-called good fat differs from white fat that makes up most body fat in such a way that the brown fat is active in burning calories and using energy. They also showed that the brown fat subsisted in adult humans and demonstrated, for the first time, that it is metabolically active.

According to the study, brown fat may have a role in regulating body weight metabolism. Therefore, by stimulating brown fat growth to control weight and improve glucose metabolism, the researchers believe that obesity, Type-2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders could be treated. Meanwhile, higher levels of brown fat might also help protect against obesity linked with aging.

By analyzing a database of 1,972 patients who had nuclear (PET) or X-ray (CT) imaging scans during a 3-year period for a variety of reasons, the researchers discovered that significant brown fat deposits in 7.5 percent of female patients and in over 3 percent of male patients. Most of the brown fat deposits were found in the patients' necks.

In the study, the tissue of 2 patients showing brown fat concentrations in their necks were tested and it was found that the cells had the protein UCP-1, which is unique to brown fat.

The study also found that the amount of brown fat presence depends on a variety of factors like age, glucose levels and, most importantly, level of obesity. For example, younger and thinner patients who had normal blood glucose levels had more brown fat, while brown fat was more active in cold weather as it helps in burning energy to produce heat.

It has been known that obesity, Type-2 diabetes and other disorders associated with obesity or overweight could eventually lead to heart disease. Such new discovery not only helps treat people with obesity but also helps them prevent heart disease.