Exercising Turns Bad Fats into Calorie-Burning Fats, Research Says

Amy Taylor November 16, 2016

Here’s another reason why exercising helps you lose weight: it converts ‘white fats’ into ‘brown fats’ which burns more calories. These new findings add to the huge body of research suggesting that exercise makes metabolism more efficient.

The study was led by Li-Jun Yang, a professor of hematopathology in the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine. She said their findings provide direct biological explanations or mechanisms why people who regularly exercise can maintain lean bodies and stronger bone structure.

Yang and her team believe that this amazing benefit of exercise has something to do with the production of a hormone called ‘irisin’ during physical activity. In a lab experiment, they found that irisin boosted the activity of another protein in the fat cells that actually converted white fat cells into brown fat cells.

Brown fats has previously been shown to improve other aspects of our metabolism, too, including insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, which are known to help ward off obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

The conversion of white fats into brown fats has been previously seen on lab mice. But this is the first time that it has been shown to occur in humans.

Another interesting finding was that when irisin was mixed with stem cells in the fat tissue (the young fat cells that have not yet become full-fledged adult fat cells), they became another type of cell that help strengthen our bones instead of actually growing into adult fat cells.

The researchers found 20 to 60 per cent fewer fat cells in the tissue that had been soaked with irisin compared with a control group of tissue that had not received the hormone.

Exercise has been linked to so many health benefits. The new findings may add extra motivation for anyone - young or old - to make exercise part of their lifestyle.

Source of this article:

Exercising Doesn’t Just Burn Fat, It Gives You ‘Smart Fat’ Too

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