Slashdot Mirror
"Fat-Burning Pill" Inches Closer To Reality
Zothecula writes with news that a fat burning pill may be on the horizon. "Researchers at Harvard University say they have identified two chemical compounds that could replace "bad" fat cells in the human body with healthy fat-burning cells, in what may be the first step toward the development of an effective medical treatment – which could even take the form of a pill – to help control weight gain. Not all fat is created equal. While white fat cells store energy as lipids and contribute to obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, the less common brown fat cells pack energy in iron-rich mitochondria, have been shown to lower triglyceride levels and insulin resistance in mice, and appear to be correlated with lower body weight in humans. Brown fat makes up about five percent of the body mass of healthy newborns, helping them keep warm, and is still present in lower quantities in our neck and shoulders as adults, where it helps burn the white fat cells."
That's fine for those who are already healthy. For someone who has made the mistake to allow themselves to become obese it's not so easy. The body resists change and making drastic changes in lifestyle is not a simple thing. If there could be a safe way to assist in reversing obesity, alongside lifestyle changes, it could be a good way to generate results and bolster motivation.
Simplistic and self-righteous comments are not helpful.
Brown fat development is interesting. Not only it burns fat, but it also produces heat. I always thought it was really dumb to feel cold in winter while we had all that energy stored as fat on our bellies.
Right now the only trick I heard of to develop brown fat was body exposition to cold: it seems the more clothes you put on, the less heat you produce. Now we have some drug, but unfortunately TFA says it messes with inflamatory response, which is not a good news. I think most people will be better with fat rather than with a cancer.