Research
Energy balance
Brown and beige adipose tissue (BAT) enhances systemic glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity through increased energy expenditure, glucose uptake, and secretion of beneficial factors (batokines), although their role in human insulin resistance resolution is complex and context-dependent.
Activating brown fat through cold exposure or exercise can improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity by burning energy and taking up glucose. However, the extent of this benefit in humans varies, and it is not a standalone cure for obesity-induced insulin resistance.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Brown/beige adipocytes are very active in directly taking up glucose in response to b adrenergic signaling and insulin and enhancing energy expenditure... Both beige and brown adipocytes appear to contribute to weight gain and enhanced glucose tolerance in rodents and humans... either through their ability to enhance energy expenditure or secrete factors beneficial to the liver, skeletal muscle, and other tissues, or via both mechanisms.
Why this rating
Evidence is strong in rodents but mixed/complex in humans, with some genetic perturbations showing unexpected results.
Source
Mechanisms of insulin resistance related to white, beige, and brown adipocytes
Michael Czech · Molecular Metabolism · 2020
DOI 10.1016/j.molmet.2019.12.014
narrative_reviewCited 248×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Obesity-induced dysfunction of white adipose tissue (WAT) lipid sequestration capacity drives systemic insulin resistance by allowing toxic lipid accumulation in the liver and skeletal muscle, thereby increasing hepatic glucose output and impairing peripheral glucose disposal.Good
- Downregulation of specific adipokines (e.g., adiponectin, Neuregulin 4) and batokines (e.g., 12-HEPE, 12,13-diHOME) in obesity contributes to systemic insulin resistance by failing to suppress hepatic lipogenesis and promote peripheral glucose uptake.Good
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