Scientists from the U.S. Johns Hopkins team have managed to turn bad white fat into good brown fat in recent experiments on rodents. This breakthrough could be a huge step in treating obesity if it were able to yield the same results in humans.

Brown fat is present in all humans during the infant years, but disappears as we age. Brown fat has been called the key to burning fat and could be a helpful way to control weight. When brown fat is lost in the body, it is replaced by white fat which has been called “bad fat” because it just sits. In their experiment, scientists were able to suppress an appetite stimulating protein called NPY. Through this suppression, the rodent’s appetite and caloric intake was reduced. This was the case even when they were fed a diet high in fat. An even more interesting development with this experiment was that the rodent’s bad white fat stores turned into good brown fat.

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New research has found a type of fat called “brown fat” that may be a key to burning body fat. While we’re familiar with “white fat,” which stores calories and is responsible for the more than 30 percent of Americans who are obese, brown fat does the opposite. It generates heat, which in turn burns calories.

Brown fat is something we’re born with, and researchers thought we lost over time. However, they are now finding it in adults, according to three studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Where will you find brown fat?
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