Energy balance
Metformin reduces visceral fat mass and improves energy metabolism by upregulating adaptive thermogenesis, specifically through the upregulation of UCP-1 in brown adipose tissue and UCP-3 in skeletal muscle.
If you have Type 2 Diabetes or significant visceral fat, metformin (typically 1500mg/day) may help reduce that stubborn belly fat by boosting your body's heat production (thermogenesis). However, it is not a magic weight-loss pill for everyone, and its effectiveness varies. It works best when combined with lifestyle changes.
Metformin has been shown to significantly reduce visceral fat mass in mice... Metformin treatment for two weeks significantly decreased baseline respiratory quotient (RQ) and increased postprandial RQ... expression of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) in BAT and uncoupling protein-3 (UCP-3) in skeletal muscle were upregulated after metformin treatment (1500 mg/day)... Hence, metformin may reduce visceral fat and improve energy metabolism by upregulating adaptive thermogenesis
Why this rating
Evidence is mixed between animal models and some human clinical data; human data cited is observational or small cohort.
Source
Metformin: An Old Drug with New Applications
Joseph Zhou et al. · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2018
DOI 10.3390/ijms19102863
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