Research
Energy balance
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is present and metabolically active in adult humans, where it contributes to energy expenditure and thermogenesis, challenging the prior belief that it is nonexistent or nonfunctional in adults.
You likely have active brown fat, even as an adult. It helps burn calories and regulate temperature. While you can't simply 'switch it on' with a pill without side effects, understanding its existence means your body has a built-in mechanism for energy expenditure that can be influenced by factors like cold exposure and diet.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
this dogma was recently reversed by evidence from nuclear medicine, which showed active BAT in adult humans.
Why this rating
Based on multiple imaging studies (PET/CT) and molecular evidence cited in a review of recent advances.
Source
Brown adipose tissue
Kristy L. Townsend et al. · Adipocyte · 2012
DOI 10.4161/adip.18951
narrative_reviewCited 170×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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