Research
Energy balance
Intracellular triglyceride (TG) lipolysis-derived fatty acids are the primary energy source for brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis upon cold activation, although circulating fatty acids can substitute if intracellular stores are unavailable.
Cold exposure triggers brown fat to burn stored fat inside the cells for heat. This is the main mechanism, though it can switch to blood fat if needed.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These studies have also shown that intracellular TG are likely the primary energy source of BAT upon activation by cold.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple human studies using PET tracers and microdialysis.
Source
Brown Adipose Tissue Energy Metabolism in Humans
André C. Carpentier et al. · Frontiers in Endocrinology · 2018
DOI 10.3389/fendo.2018.00447
narrative_reviewCited 312×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Brown adipose tissue (BAT) glucose uptake during cold exposure does not significantly contribute to systemic glucose clearance or thermogenesis because most taken-up glucose is metabolized into lactate or used for glyceroneogenesis rather than mitochondrial oxidation.Good
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