Research
Energy balance
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is present in adult humans and its activity is inversely related to body mass index, suggesting a potential role in energy expenditure and body weight regulation.
While brown fat exists in adults and is more active in lean individuals, there is currently no proven, safe, and efficacious intervention to increase it for weight loss. Focus on established methods like diet and exercise.
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The recent (re)discovery of brown adipose tissue in human adults and a better understanding of brown adipose tissue development have encouraged the quest for new alternatives to treat obesity since obese individuals seem to have less brown adipose tissue mass/activity than do their lean counterparts.
Why this rating
Based on multiple PET/CT studies and histological evidence in humans, though clinical outcomes are not yet established.
Source
The Implication of Brown Adipose Tissue for Humans
Éric Ravussin et al. · Annual Review of Nutrition · 2011
DOI 10.1146/annurev-nutr-072610-145209
narrative_reviewCited 165×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Brown adipose tissue generates heat through uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which dissipates energy as heat rather than producing ATP, thereby increasing energy expenditure.Strong
- Obese individuals have less brown adipose tissue mass and activity than lean individuals, which may contribute to obesity susceptibility.Good
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