Exercise May Turn Fat Into a Weight Regulator
White fat is detested in modern societies as unaesthetic and a threat to health. Researchers are discovering ways that white fat gets changed into beige fat that burns energy rather than storing it.
Small mammals can be very good at surviving under extremely cold conditions. One case is provided by the harp seal, which is born onto polar ice and prospers nonetheless. This feat is accomplished thanks to brown fat, a tissue that is specialized for rapidly generating heat. This tissue is found close to vital organs. It uses a metabolic trick to produce heat faster than other tissues.
Brown fat is functional in all young mammals, including humans. That is why children can spend long periods playing in the snow without complaining about the cold. So, although fat is normally thought of as a store of energy, brown fat is specialized for burning fat and releasing heat (thermogenesis).
From the time that they are independent of their mothers, young mammals maintain a slender body that helps them to move quickly and elude predators. This resistance to weight gain is due to having active brown fat.........
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