'Chill' At Home And Still Lose Weight: Fat-Burning Protein Triggered By Cold Temperatures

Winter time means staying warm and protecting yourself from a nasty cold. Recent findings have shown that you're more likely to catch a virus in the colder months of the year because of the "cold." Yet did you know that cold temperatures can help to potentially boost weight loss, with no exercise required?

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, took a closer look into how the fuel-efficient, fat-burning brown fat is triggered by some very chilly weather. They found that the fat burning fat or the brown fat that's used to make energy in our bodies helps metabolize more efficiently. The bad fat, otherwise known as the white-yellow kind, is known to sluggishly buildups in our bodies, hopefully to be burned later.

Fortunately, the study authors have now discovered the exact protein called transcription factor Zfp516 that helps the bad fat become good, even without exercise.

"Knowing which proteins regulate brown fat is significant because brown fat is not only important for thermogenesis, but there is evidence that brown fat may also affect metabolism and insulin resistance," said lead study author Hei Sook Sul, UC Berkeley professor of nutritional science and toxicology, in a news release. "If you can somehow increase levels of this protein through drugs, you could have more brown fat, and could possibly lose more weight even if eating the same amount of food."

By using brown fat's ability to generate heat, it can be forced to convert white fat into more brown fat that's used for energy and, eventually, weight loss. In time, if researchers can also learn to isolate the protein and turn it on and off, patients dealing with obesity and other conditions that may prevent them from exercising could begin to convert more of their white-fat storages into brown fat that promotes weight-loss.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Molecular Biology.

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