Posted on 01/16/2025 6:29:11 AM PST by Red Badger
Research from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School shows that brown adipose tissue can boost exercise performance and support healthy aging, offering promising insights for future therapies targeting age-related decline.
The researchers hypothesize that brown adipose tissue (BAT) offers protection against compromised healthy longevity, including conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and decreased exercise tolerance.
A new research perspective published in Aging explores the impact of brown adipose tissue (BAT) on exercise endurance and healthy aging. Conducted by researchers Dorothy E. Vatner, Jie Zhang, and Stephen F. Vatner from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, the study examines how BAT—a unique type of fat that burns calories to produce heat—contributes to overall health.
Unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat increases body warmth and enhances metabolism. The researchers suggest that this metabolic activity may also offer protection against obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
BAT’s Direct Impact on Exercise Performance
This research perspective highlights key findings from multiple studies on BAT. While most studies have shown that exercise regulates BAT activation and increases BAT density, relatively few have demonstrated that BAT itself can directly increase exercise performance.
One notable example involves RGS14 knockout mice, a genetically modified group known for their longer lifespan. When BAT from these mice was transplanted into regular mice, the recipients displayed improved running endurance just three days after the transplant. In contrast, brown fat from non-modified mice took much longer to produce similar improvements.
These findings highlight the unique properties of BAT in enhancing physical performance. The researchers emphasized also that BAT improves blood circulation and reduces cellular stress, which may help combat age-related muscle loss, fatigue, and metabolic decline.
The authors suggest that treatments designed to mimic the benefits of brown fat could lead to innovative approaches for improving energy levels, maintaining a healthy weight, and supporting heart health.
“In view of the ability of BAT to mediate healthful longevity and enhance exercise performance, it is likely that a pharmaceutical analog of BAT will become a novel therapeutic modality.”
In conclusion, continued research on this topic may lead to the development of promising new therapies that help older adults live more active lives while reducing the risk of chronic age-related conditions.
Reference:
“Brown adipose tissue enhances exercise performance and healthful longevity”
by Dorothy E. Vatner, Jie Zhang and Stephen F. Vatner, 18 December 2024, Aging.
DOI: 10.18632/aging.206179
Thanks, Pete!
Our daughter and her husband live in Oregon so that it’s a short drive for them to do amazing hiking and snow skiing in the Cascades. They love it there.
I was just thinking about turning down the temperature inside, but then it made me think of how I’d probably go run upstairs and put on another light layer of clothing. It would at least help my utilities bill, right?
I think I should go hang out in the garage and find something in there to do for an hour or so. Or just go outside and walk around out there. I see my feeders are needing to be refilled, so that would be a positive thing for at least 10 minutes. ;)
So, bacon is still good ta go?
Notice that these headlines ALWAYS are full of Weasel Words, like "could" and "may," never concrete terms like "can" or "will?"
If we’d GET SOME SNOW, I’d be on my snowshoes tearing up the countryside! As it is? Brown grass and bare trees all around...though the garden is well mulched with straw.
Priorities! ;)
This has been one winter for the books so far. It was high 30’s today - heading to FORTY tomorrow!
And now I just jinxed us and we’ll get TWO FEET of snow and 50 MPH winds right behind it. ;)
I have 12” of snow that’s been compacted to about 7-8”. Starting to get snow melting and falling off the roof yesterday a little, and more today.
I took a walk out to the creek today. Tromped through the snow. The sun was peeking through the clouds. I got a few nice shots with my cell phone camera. The creek is not frozen all the way through anymore. So I took a video of water underneath the ice rushing over the pebbles and rocks beneath the surface. That was pretty cool.
Anyway, I was outside for about an hour or so. I don’t know if it will help me lose any weight at all. I struggle in the winter. Put on a few pounds, and then work them back off in the spring and summer. It happens every year that way for me. I try not to obsess about it. Staying healthy and eating right, getting exercise every day. Hopefully that game plan will be beneficial to me. So far I’ve lucked out.
I tried cold showers because that activates brown fat. I just couldn’t do it - it’s a mental thing, primarily. I can be tough enough mentally to put one foot in front of the other for 40 miles (1 day marathon hike), but the dread of that cold water .... nope!
Even if I could do it once, I wonder how many times you have to do that? Every shower? Once a week a cold shower? It doesn’t sound like a fun habit to try to build.
I go out when I need to shovel, which so far this January has been a lot! (We had 12 I think about 10 days ago, and 4 inches last week.)
You could probably do some Cross country skiing here for about 10 days a year, so its hard to justify buying cross country skis. I do see a lot of people using the poles hiking around. I go through a regular gain in winter, lose in summer routine too.
BAT is how babies stay warm, they don’t have muscles yet to shiver, We have very little left as we reach adulthood, and cold exposure does activate what we do have, and can “brown” some of our SubQ fat to a degree. The SubQ and what little BAT we have on our bodies is very healthy for us, the other three types of fat are very detrimental to our health.
I hated cold showers my whole life, but no-one said you have to go right from ahot shower to freezing cold. The first three try at trying to step under a very cold shower head didn’t even last a second, so it was pretty evident that wasn’t going to work.
I ended up taking my normal hot morning shower, and at the end, turned it down so it was cool@62, and stood there for a couple of minutes. I kept slowly progressing over a couple of weeks, till I was able to acheive @42 degrees. The most surprising thing is it actually felt good, if I had kept trying to just do it like I initially did, about three years ago, I’d still be trying LOL.
Your picture...Aquaman is clearly a Warm, Tropical, salt-water fish-man! Sure brown eyes, brown hair, but no brown fat! :O
(I wonder if taking an ice pack and putting it over my collar bones would work??)
Bkmk
You might be one of my neighbors, Pete! I see people dress in shorts and a t shirt when it’s in the 30’s around here. NOT ME!!!
There must be something about mental attitude that contributes to this. Perhaps why I’m a weenie when it comes to cooler temps.
I used to think that people shouldn’t send their children to school when temps wouldn’t be above 20. Yes, that’s how a native Floridian thinks. How can the kids concentrate when they’re so cold?!! LOLOLOL. I was so called out about that when my oldest was in first grade. They laughed their heads off, but I learned. I have learned that you wear lots of layers, and bundle up. Wind can be fierce!
(P.S. I like the idea of a cold pack over the collar bone idea. Worth a try!)
Who needs brown fat when you have Jason to keep you warm? ;)
When it gets too hot in your sauna!
It’s a BALMY 13 degrees in the greenhouse, today! -12 outside, though. ;) Reverse Sauna, LOL!
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