Searching for Brown Fat

We've all heard the phrase "You are what you eat."  Now, however, researchers are wondering if you are what brown fat you have.

Animal studies also suggest brown fat boosts weight loss. Last year, Stockholm University scientists found that mice that could not make brown fat gained weight 50 percent faster than mice that could. In a 2008 study, mice fed a high-fat diet and kept at room temperature ended up nearly four times heavier than mice fed the same diet and housed at 39 F. Researchers estimate that just 2 ounces of active brown fat could burn 300 to 500 calories a day. "You don't need much to have a profound effect on your body's metabolism," Cypess says.

Perhaps one day what seems only like fantasy will end up being reality - and utterly alter our ideas about weight and metabolism.