Researchers from ibs.GRANADA demonstrate the role of brown adipose tissue in the metabolic health of overweight or obese people
The study, developed within the framework of the ACTIBATE project, highlights the importance of this tissue that helps regulate temperature and metabolism and could have positive cardiometabolic functions.
There is a group of overweight or obese people who are characterized by having a lower risk of cardiometabolic complications, the also called metabolically healthy overweight or obesity (MHOO) phenotype. This group has similar levels of adiposity as those people who are metabolically unhealthy overweight or obese (MUOO), although the differences in brown adipose tissue have not been previously studied. Brown adipose tissue is a type of fat that helps regulate temperature and metabolism, which could have positive cardiometabolic functions.
To do this, researchers from the group MP20-Biomarkers of Metabolic and Bone Diseases from ibs.GRANADA and the research group of the Joint University Institute of Sports and Health (iMUDS) of the University of Granada directed by Dr. Jonatan Ruiz carried out a study in which they compared the volume and activity of brown adipose tissue, the energy at rest, in response to exposure to cold and after a meal, and temperature between a group of overweight or obese people with a healthy metabolic profile and another group with an unhealthy metabolic profile.
The results showed that the metabolically healthy overweight or obese group had a greater amount and activity of brown adipose tissue compared to the metabolically unhealthy group. Furthermore, the study, led by Dr. Lucas Jurado-Fasoli, showed that metabolically healthy overweight or obese people had greater energy expenditure in response to a meal and in response to acute exposure to cold compared to those who were metabolically unhealthy. healthy.
Finally, metabolically healthy overweight or obese individuals stably maintained supraclavicular skin temperature in response to a meal and acute cold exposure compared to their metabolically unhealthy counterparts. It should be noted that skin temperature in the supraclavicular area has previously been used as an indirect method for evaluating the activity of brown adipose tissue.
Taken together, the research results suggest an important role for brown adipose tissue in conferring a metabolically healthy phenotype in overweight or obese young adults. Furthermore, as researchers Ruiz and Jurado-Fasoli point out, these results provide evidence on the potential role of brown adipose tissue in energy expenditure and cardiometabolic health.
Bibliographic reference:
Jurado-Fasoli, L., Sánchez-Delgado, G., Alcantara, JM, Acosta, FM, Sánchez-Sánchez, R., Labayen, I., Ortega, FB, Martinez-Tellez, B., & Ruiz, JR ( 2024). Adults with metabolically healthy overweight or obesity present more brown adipose tissue and higher thermogenesis than their metabolically unhealthy counterparts. EBioMedicine, 100.
