The functions of brown and white fat

Bacteria living in the large intestine could play an important role in obesity by slowing the activity of brown fat to burn calories.

The functions of brown and white fat

A recent study in mice published in the Journal of Proteome Research suggests that bacteria living in the large intestine could play an important role in obesity by slowing the activity of brown fat to burn calories.

The researchers said their findings could help develop new ways to prevent obesity and promote weight loss, for example by focusing research on new drug targets and microbial treatments.

There are two types of adipose tissue or fat in the body: brown fat and white fat. Brown fat burns calories when it is stimulated while white fat stores energy (calories) and produces hormones.

Brown fat exists in small deposits in the neck region and elsewhere, while the white is in fat deposits around the waist and buttocks.

Everyone has these two weights, but rates vary. Recent data suggest that thin people have more brown fat than overweight or obese. Young and healthy women have more brown fat, while men were less overweight adults.

More brown fat means more active and burn calories fast

In healthy subjects, the large intestine is home to thousands of billions of bacteria that help digest food and vitamins.

Recently, researchers have discovered that intestinal bacteria interact with the rest of the body in some respects, for example bacteria affect the immune system, including how we use and store energy.

"This is the first study to examine the influence of intestinal bacteria on the brown fat," said the researchers from Imperial College London, UK, and the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.

They conducted a series of experiments on the behavior of intestinal bacteria in mice, and the role of bacteria in their large intestine. They found that germ-free mice that had high levels of brown fat (healthy) appeared to be more active and burn calories faster than normal mice.

They also found that the gut bacteria appeared to be associated with differences in weight between the sexes. Male mice were heavier patients and larger than their female counterparts, but there were no such differences in healthy mice.