Brown fat solution for weight loss

At present, the problem of obesity tends to increase steadily, evident from the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1975 to the present that the population around the world has almost three times the problem of overweight or obesity. is 52% of the total population.

Like in Thailand, people are found to be obese and overweight. The second highest in Southeast Asia, especially for urban populations like Bangkok. There is an overweight rate of up to 50%, which is the highest compared to other regions.​

Although there are campaigns to advise on lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and the creation of medicines to help solve the problem. But still cannot reduce the number of people who suffer from overweight problems.

 

Obesity is caused by the body’s energy input rather than energy expenditure. causing excess energy to be stored in the form of white adipose tissue, which is usually accumulated in the hips, thighs, upper arms, and most importantly The abdominal area (Visceral fat) makes our waistline larger. or as we call belly fat

This visceral fat is the most dangerous because it leads to the risk of metabolic syndrome, a leading cause of heart disease, diabetes and non-communicable diseases. (Non-communicable diseases; NCDs) many more​

In addition to white fat cells Do many of you know that we still have another type of fat cells called fat cells? Brown fat (Brown adipose tissue)  looks and works opposite to white fat.

This type of fat has a dark reddish brown color due to Iron in mitochondria, blood vessels, nerves, and a specific protein found only in brown fat is Uncoupling protein1 (UCP1) in large amounts. Found mostly in childhood and gradually decreasing

 

brown fat How to help reduce obesity

when getting older Brown fat cells play an important role in energy catabolism and heat production to maintain body temperature. Therefore, people with high amounts of brown fat are able to burn calories. And endure the cold longer than that

Brown fat gets more attention. because it may answer the problem of obesity problem Although brown fat cells are found only 50 grams or less than 0.1% of body weight. But if the brown fat cells are fully activated, the body will burn up to 20% of the body’s daily energy expenditure. While white fat cells accumulate in the body up to 50% of body weight in adults who are over-energized. This causes the two types of fat to act opposite to each other.

​​ Although the prevalence of brown fat in childhood is steadily decreasing. when growing up as an adult But it seems there is a solution to the activation of brown fat. Including turning white fat into brown fat as well

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How do we increase brown fat?

• eat right

Eating less or more than the body needs. Encourage brown fat to burn energy normally. and maintain muscle mass in the body to be stable

• maintain proper body weight

Obese people detected less amounts of brown fat than people who were lighter. and the performance is also less Studies have found that when obese patients lose weight can increase the activity of brown fat

• increase exercise

The protein irisin (Irisin) can convert white fat into brown fat. In the exercising group, the production of this protein was higher compared to the inactive people. and the amount of irisin Increased when doing high intensity interval training (HIIT), which is exercise that alternates with continuous rest. Depending on the availability of each person’s body. should be under the supervision of a specialist

• air conditioning to cool down

exposing the body to cold conditions Stimulates brown fat cells to burn more energy

• Choose a healthy diet.

Increase the intake of chili peppers such as hot peppers, chili peppers, because they contain capsaicin and capsinoids that can stimulate the activity of brown fat. There is also research that has been studied in experimental animals, found that polyphenols. (Polyphenols), including curcumin (Curcumin) from turmeric, resveratrol extract (Resveratrol) from the skin of grapes, mulberries can raise the body’s basal temperature.

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Increasing the amount and function of brown fat may be an alternative solution to the problem of obesity and overweight. But choosing a healthy diet, eating vegetables at least 50% of the plate, getting enough sleep and exercise regularly It is still a basic necessity for all of us who continue to practice regularly. to keep the body healthy have strong immunity Prevent other diseases which may occur in the future

 

Source:​

1. Jitweena Mahagita. The Update of Brown Adipose Tissue in Adult Human: Possible Target to Battle Obesity?. Royal Thai Army Medical Journal. 2013:83-92.​

2. Lee P, Smith S, Linderman J, Courville AB, Brychta RJ, Dieckmann W, Werner CD, Chen KY, Celi FS. Temperature-acclimated brown adipose tissue modulates insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetes. 2014 Nov 1;63(11):3686-98.​

3. Maalouf GE, El Khoury D. Exercise-induced irisin, the fat browning myokine, as a potential anticancer agent. Journal of obesity. 2019;2019.​

4. El Hadi H, Di Vincenzo A, Vettor R, Rossato M. Food ingredients involved in white-to-brown adipose tissue conversion and in calorie burning. Frontiers in physiology. 2019 Jan 11;9:1954.​

5. Townsend K, Tseng YH. Brown adipose tissue: Recent insights into development, metabolic function and therapeutic potential. Adipocytes. 2012;1(1):13-24.