Healthy FAT

Fat you'd want to keep

Researchers at Boston's Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that adults have a type of 'good' fat known as 'brown fat' that helps the body burn-calories and use energy. Findings, reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, could one day lead to obesity cures.

Those who are young, thin, or who have normal blood-sugar levels are more likely to have more brown fat. Such fat is commonly found in newborns. Babies start bulking up on brown fat at around 19 weeks in the womb and it accounts to five percent of their total body mass. Brown fat helps to keep babies warm.

According to new studies from the University of Maastricht in the Neteherland and centres in Finland and Sweden, people have less brown fat as they age and obese adults have less of the fat than lean people. Brown fat can be activated by spending even a little time in a chilly room.

According to authors, including lead author Dr Aaron Cypess, a research associate and physician at Joslin, findings suggest this fat may protect against age-related obesity. One day, researchers say, stimulating brown fat growth may help control weight, improve glucose metabolism and prevent diabetes.