Obesity is a serious concern in the United States and its prevalence was 42.4 percent in 2017–2018. Obesity prevalence in the United States grew from 30.5 percent to 42.4 percent between 1999 and 2000.
Simultaneously, the prevalence of extreme obesity grew from 4.7 to 9.2 percent. In 2008, the yearly medical cost of obesity in the United States was projected to reach $147 billion. Research has also shown that since 2008, the national adult obesity rate has climbed by 26%.
How Metabolism Could Play A Key Role In Dealing With Obesity
Obesity is considered the number one enemy of the human body as accumulated fat may lead to terrible physical conditions over a period. The only option to counter obesity is to have a better metabolism rate so that whatever fat is acquired by the body is used timely.
Obesity does not come in one size fits all, there are different types of obesity and there are levels to it as well. In obese people, it is the brown fat that may make all the difference. According to a study led by Florian Kiefer’s research group from the Division of Endocrinology.
It was seen that people who are severely overweight or who can be called obese, have active brown. This active brown fat helps to develop a healthier metabolism and use more energy than obese people who do not have brown fat. According to the latest findings, the presence of brown fat may protect against secondary obesity-related disorders. The research was just published in the international journal Diabetes.
Medical experts have been attempting to figure out why certain fat people are less prone to acquire health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure than others of comparable weight for years. Brown fat appears to be an essential role in what is known as “metabolically good obesity.”
Brown fat has long been assumed to boost metabolism because, unlike white store fat, it can burn energy in the process. Babies and toddlers, in particular, require brown adipose tissue to keep their bodies warm, but the quantity of brown fat in the body diminishes with age and obesity,” adds Florian Kiefer.
The Viennese research group, on the other hand, revealed that more than a third of extremely overweight people (BMI > 35kg/m2) still contain active brown fat in a newly published study. The individuals in the research were initially subjected to mild cold using cooling vests to activate brown fat, which was then identified by PET-CT scanning.
“Brown fat is mostly present near the base of the neck and in the rib cage in adulthood. It can be activated by a brief period of cold stimulation lasting approximately an hour “Kiefer, the study’s leader, stated. Overweight participants with brown fat consumed more calories, had less dangerous belly fat, had better sugar metabolism, and showed fewer symptoms of fatty liver disease than a control group of the same weight but no identifiable brown fat.
Kiefer’s thoughts: “Even though they had a somewhat higher BMI, the subjects with brown fat performed better on practically all metabolic metrics. These findings demonstrate that it is not just the quantity of adipose tissue that is crucial, but also it’s quality.”
In fact, changes in body composition may have had a role in the favorable metabolic condition. The proportion of deep-lying abdominal fat (visceral fat), which is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular stroke, was considerably lower in the brown fat group. “It is possible that brown fat’s heightened metabolic activity will selectively break down and destroy dangerous visceral fat deposits first. That is why we are presently focusing our efforts on developing medication therapies to trigger brown fat “Kiefer reveals.
