Research
Hormonal
Pharmacological agents that induce browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) or activate brown fat can improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss.
Improving your metabolic health doesn't always require weight loss. Activating your brown fat through methods like cold exposure can directly improve how your body handles glucose and insulin, offering benefits even if your weight stays the same.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Increasing BAT amount and/or activity will also have a direct beneficial effect on glucose and lipid metabolism independent from the effect on body weight (Fig. 1) [55].
Why this rating
Strong evidence in rodent models and emerging evidence in humans (BAT transplantation, cold exposure).
Source
Brown Fat and Browning for the Treatment of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders
So Hun Kim et al. · Diabetes & Metabolism Journal · 2016
DOI 10.4093/dmj.2016.40.1.12
narrative_reviewCited 229×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) through cold exposure increases whole-body energy expenditure and improves glucose and lipid metabolism in humans.Good
- Exercise induces the production of myokines like irisin and meteorin-like (Metrnl) which promote the browning of white adipose tissue and increase energy expenditure.Moderate
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