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Brown Fat: What is it? Do you have it?

Abby Gold, PhD, MPH, RD
Nutrition and Wellness Specialist, University of Minnesota Extension Service and North Dakota State University Extension Service

The public’s interest in brown fat recently became elevated. Just perform a Twitter search and watch the constant stream of mini-blogs appear. Here’s what Twitterers are saying about brown fat:

"A good source of brown fat" labeled on everything in the grocery store in T-minus 5-4-3-2... kms007

Eating chocolate Easter candy for breakfast. I'm convinced that scientist will find that chocolate is the real source of "brown fat". HESchluter

Brown Fat. Found in our bodies and has interesting slimming potential (at least in mice). djblatner

Brown fat is a childhood fat that burns calories...adults still have some. Around neck/collarbone. Sounds like voodoo science! cpkimball

Where can I get more brown fat? nicoleschwegman

Almost 20 years ago I heard some funny advice, “throw your cats outside when it’s cold, shivering is good for them, it keeps them leaner.” Well, now it looks like there might be some truth to this advice. Evidence is mounting about a type of fat called “brown fat” and its effect on weight. Leaner people and animals are said to have higher levels of brown fat.

Humans and other mammals have two types of fat cells. White fat cells store energy; whereas, brown fat cells are specialized to produce heat and are therefore touted to protect from obesity. The theory: since brown cells produce heat, body temperature rises, and more fat is burned. More brown fat cells translates to more body heat production. This is at least true in mice bred to possess more brown fat.

Translating the discoveries made on mice to humans is a bit tricky. Humans are harder to control than mice in experiments. Emery writes, “The hope is that if a way can be found to activate this brown fat and get the body to make more of it, people could burn off extra calories without additional exercise.” The science in this area is moving toward finding a way to activate the brown fat to burn calories, and then also finding a way for the body to produce more brown fat.

These findings are still theoretical. In fact, scientists have been studying brown fat since the early 1960’s (at least in animals), so the recent discoveries made in humans are not as new as everyone might think. No pill currently exists to trigger the use and production of brown fat. Also, little is known about the consequences of substituting brown fat stimulation to promote weight loss for exercise and a healthy diet.

The best tools at our disposal for weight loss still involve balancing our calories eaten with our calories expended, as well as designing environments that promote healthy living. New exercise guidelines released by CDC give people more flexibility for attaining optimal activity levels (Physical Activity by CDC). For nutrition, MyPyramid.gov offers personalized eating plans and interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices while taking into consideration your activity level.

New discoveries are always exciting. The human body is indeed a marvelous specimen. But, we need to take a measured approach and not wait for a pill to cure all of our ills. The time to think about preventing obesity is now by using the best research-based tools at our disposal. These tools include physical activity, healthy foods (though not too many calories), and designing healthy living environments.