Research
Energy balance
BAT activation may play a role in weight loss maintenance by counteracting metabolic adaptation (slowed metabolism) after weight loss.
For those who have lost weight, maintaining some level of brown fat activity (e.g., through mild cold exposure) might help prevent metabolic slowdown and weight regain, though evidence is limited.
ModerateConditionalMEDIUM confidence
even a 100 kcal/day contribution gives it a potential role in weight loss maintenance by potentially counteracting some of the metabolic adaptation induced by weight loss
Why this rating
Speculative based on theoretical contribution.
Source
Is activation of human brown adipose tissue a viable target for weight management?
Kara L. Marlatt et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · 2018
DOI 10.1152/ajpregu.00443.2017
narrative_reviewCited 35×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Activation of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) via cold exposure or pharmacological agents does not result in meaningful body weight loss and is not a viable strategy for obesity treatment.Good
- Pharmacological activation of brown adipose tissue using beta-3-adrenoreceptor agonists increases cardiovascular risk (heart rate and blood pressure) without providing weight loss benefits.Good
- While BAT activation does not cause weight loss, it may improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in humans.Good
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