Brown adipose tissue is located in the neck area and is more physiologically active in this woman than in the man pictured.

We have two types of adipose (fat) tissue in our bodies: brown fat which causes adults to burn calories and white fat which causes us to store it. Up until recently, medical researchers believed that brown adipose tissue was not only scarce in adults but was physiologically irrelevant.

However, research, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is showing that brown adipose tissue helps adults burn more calories than white adipose tissue. In fact, only 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of brown adipose tissue  boost the rate at which we burn calories by an astonishing 20%.

Essentially the difference between these two types of tissue is the difference between gaining or losing weight. White adipose tissue is the primary site for energy storage. Simply put, the excess calories we eat and do not use gets stored as potential energy in the form of fat. It also produces hormones which won’t be discussed here. Brown adipose tissue in adults, on the other hand, is involved in energy expenditure rather than in energy storage. It affects the body’s overall metabolism and is responsible for setting the body’s metabolic rate, sensitivity to weight gain and insulin sensitivity.

Previously, brown adipose tissue was known to play a crucial role in infants and young children because it helped them regulate body temperature through thermoregulatory pathways. Adults however, regulate body temperature by different mechanisms based on muscle mass – which infants lack. It was difficult to detect brown adipose tissue in adults partly because researchers were looking in the wrong place, partly because its presence is scarce in adults and partly because brown adipose tissue is less metabolically active in certain conditions. It is activated by cold temperatures and is therefore least active in summer. In addition, certain medications such as benzodiazepines and beta blockers deactivate it.

In another development, scientists at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have discovered what regulates the development of brown adipose tissue in the body. Their findings were released in the online journal Science last week. In a telephone interview, Stephan Herzig, one of the lead researchers speculated that brown adipose tissue could be grown in a lab and then transplanted back into the body in order to help burn more calories.

Since 67% of Americans in 2005-2006 were overweight (body mass index between 26-29.9) or obese (BMI of 30 or more), the problems that this epidemic creates needs to be dealt with in a number of different ways. Sadly, very few Americans are able to successfully lose weight and keep it off without lap-band or gastric bypass surgery.

Research that may help us treat obesity in novel and creative ways is needed, since Americans are unwilling to pass laws that minimize certain food additives linked to obesity (the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup for starters) or are simply unable to make sensible food choices (see my post Drug Addiction and Overeating Linked).

If you’re curious to know what your body mass index (BMI) is, follow this link.

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