Brown adipose tissue (BAT) possess the unique capacity of consuming large amounts of energy to produce heat. This tissue, due to its high-energy consumption, presents potent anti-obesity effects in rodents and other mammals. In humans, BAT has been traditionally thought to be absent or metabolically irrelevant after the first years of life, but, a decade ago, BAT was discovered to be present and metabolically active in adult humans. Since then, BAT has been regarded as a promising target to anti-obesity therapies, although, there is still no scientific proof of that. More investigation is still needed to completely clarify the extent to which BAT is able to increase human energy expenditure. Nevertheless, an increase in energy expenditure is commonly coupled with an increase in energy intake, and consequently, the role of BAT on human energy intake needs to be elucidated to fully understand the possibilities of BAT for being and effective anti-obesity therapeutic target.
In our study, we investigated, for the first time in humans, the association of BAT volume and glucose uptake with energy intake and appetite regulation. Applying the state-of-the-art methodologies for BAT assessment, we found that BAT volume and glucose uptake are not associated with energy intake nor with feelings of hunger and fullness before and after meals, in a group of 102 young adults. This likely reflect that BAT role in energy intake regulation in humans is negligible, which concurs with previous studies showing a very small effect in human energy expenditure.
Complete reference:
Sanchez-Delgado G, Acosta FM, Martinez-Tellez B, Finlayson G, Gibbons C, Labayen I, Llamas-Elvira JM, Gil A , Blundell JE, Ruiz JR. Brown Adipose Tissue Volume and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Are Not Associated With Energy Intake in Young Human Adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2019 Dec 11.
