Brown Fat Helps Protect Against Diabetes and Obesity

For the first time, a study has shown how brown fat helps ward off diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, found that people with elevated levels of brown fat (brown adipose tissue) in their bodies have better blood sugar control, higher insulin sensitivity and better metabolism for burning fat stores.

Since brown fat has the ability to control blood sugar, researchers suggest that this could be a significant medial weapon against diabetes - which nearly 23.6 million people in the United States suffer from. Humans have two types of fat tissues in their bodies that include the white fat tissue and the brown fat tissue. Excess of white fat tissues lead to reduced insulin sensitivity that further contributes to diabetes.  

Brown fat, on the other hand, offers several health benefits such as protection against obesity as well as diabetes. 

"We showed that exposure to mild cold raised whole body energy expenditure, increased glucose removal from the circulation and improved insulin sensitivity in men who have significant amounts of brown adipose tissue depots," stated UTMB's Labros Sidossis, professor of Internal Medicine. "These results support the notion that brown adipose tissue may function as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetic tissue in humans."

In the current study, the researchers compared healthy men with men having high or low levels of brown fat tissue on their resting energy expenditure, usage of glucose and insulin sensitivity. The participants were placed either in normal temperature conditions or were exposed to mildly cold temperatures for nearly 5-8 hours.

While the participants were exposed to cold or regular temperature exposure period, the researchers also conducted an analysis of bodily samples. They collected blood and breath samples to monitor the changes in glucose and insulin concentration, hormone changes and whole body oxygen consumption as well the rate at which carbon dioxide was produced.

They retrieved brown and white fat tissue samples to evaluate the differences in cellular energy production and gene expression.

"In this study we show that, when activated via mild cold exposure, brown adipose tissue can increase energy expenditure and burn calories. This is good news for overweight and obese people," stated Sidossis. "Of even greater clinical significance may be the finding that brown fat can help the body regulate blood sugar more effectively. This is great news for people with insulin resistance and diabetes and suggests that brown fat may prove to be an important anti-diabetic tissue."

The study appears in the journal Diabetes.