Blog #1: Health Promotion

Anna Emery:  Health Promotion Blog #1

The article below was taken from Health Magazine 2009.  The article is very interesting as it focuses on a special kind of adipose tissue referred to as brown fat.   With the help of ongoing research, there have been studies that have discovered that some adults may also have brown fat which, when the particular individual is in a colder environment, is triggered to burn off calories in an attempt to raise the temperature of the individual at any given time.  Each time the individual is exposed to cold temperatures, more brown fat is released and the individual loses weight by burning calories.  This article focuses on the different studies that have proven brown fat no longer only exist in newborns and animals but now brown fat also exists in adults.  Additionally, the article mentions that there may be a drug on the market that may help to trigger brown fat to be released to burn more calories and as a result lose weight, without enduring cold temperature.  However, realistically the article does not say that being cold is the best way to lose weight, but rather brown fat along with diet and exercise may do the trick! 

I current work in Labor and Delivery at Magee-Womens Hospital where I interact with babies and pregnant mothers.  One of the first basic rules of newborns is that most babies will lose weight before he or she gains any weight.  The main for this is due to the high levels of adipose tissue or brown fat that the baby has stored.  So, in the first few hours to days of birth if the baby has trouble maintaining his or her temperature, the brown fat that is stored in the body is triggered to burn calories and, as a result, can the newborn to lose weight.  For this reason, I found this article so very interesting because to learn that now adults and infants alike have an adipose tissue capable of producing phenomenal results is remarkable.

"Brown fat" burns calories -- may lead to new obesity treatments   

Harding, Amber.  (2009). "Brown fat" burns calories -- may lead to new obesity treatments.  Retrieved on April 12th, 2009 from http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/10/brown.fat.obesity/index.html