Types Of Body Fat: White, Brown And Beige
Did you know that there are different types of body fat? The body has white, brown and beige adipocytes (fat cells). Depending on their color, fats have either positive or negative effects on health.
Types of body fat
White body fat
White body fat is what we all know, which is what accumulates. It acts as an energy reserve and its metabolic impact is responsible for all the pathogenesis associated with obesity. Unfortunately, it is the most abundant type of fat in the human body and its quantity is higher in obese subjects.
Brown fat
This type of body fat is thermogenic, which means that it activates the metabolism for energy in the form of heat. Its dark color is due precisely to the high density of mitochondria (the energy units of cells).
Until a few years ago, it was thought that this type of body fat was only present in infants, as it serves to maintain an optimal temperature after their appearance in the external environment.
Today, however, we know that, although in smaller percentages, it is also present in adults and that it is greater in slimmer people. This is shown in a study published in the journal Current Opinion in Lipidology .
In the newborn, brown fat is found in the interscapular region and can account for up to 5% of the total body weight. In adults it is dispersed among the white adipocytes, especially in the nape, in the supraclavicular region, in the peri-aortic tissue, in the paravertebral region and in the perirenal area.
Body fat beige
The discovery of beige fat is the most recent. It is made up of white adipocytes that behave like brown following the action of certain stimuli that activate the secretion of irisin. When the stimulus fails, the white adipocytes recover their natural activity.
As indicated in an article published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology , this type of fat decreases with age.
Based on the above, it is better to understand which types of body fat are the healthiest. The aim is therefore to increase the amount of brown adipocytes and maximize the conversion of white fat to beige.
Stimuli that promote the browning of white fat
Cold (<20ºC) and physical exercise are the only two stimuli capable of activating brown fat and causing white fat to behave momentarily as such. This is essential to combat obesity and its complications.
This is particularly important in cases of hyperplastic obesity, a condition for which there is an increase in the number of adipocytes. Currently, the different approaches to overweight and obesity are aimed at reducing only the size of adipocytes and not their number.
People whose obesity was acquired in childhood (hyperplastic obesity) will always maintain a greater obesogenic tendency than those who developed this condition later (hypertrophic obesity). Since we cannot eliminate adipocytes, it is essential to change their activity.
The cold against obesity
So far, exposure to cold has proven to be the most powerful and effective stimulus for activating brown fat and making white adipocytes behave like brown adipocytes. However, effective exposure strategies without harming the subject are not yet known.
Impact of exercise on body fat
The above is further proof that the benefits of exercise go beyond the calorie expenditure involved. We know that it is able to stimulate brown tissue and cause white to momentarily behave as such. Furthermore, as we have pointed out in previous publications, it is capable of modifying obesogenic epigenetics.
There are several types of body fat
Science has proven that there are 3 different types of body fat. However, it is not yet known precisely how to stimulate the increase of fat deposits that are considered healthy for health. More research is needed.
