Q&A: Brown Fat Linked to Better Cardio and Metabolic Health

Paul Cohen of the Rockefeller University describes his study of thousands of people, finding that the energy-burning tissue is tied to a lower risk of for several diseases, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 5 min read

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brown fat, metabolism, cardiovascular disease, cardiometabolic disease, genetics & genomics, immunology, Q&A, adipose tissue, obesity

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ABOVE: Brown fat is enriched with mitochondria (dark purple spots) that burn energy to heat the body when it’s cold.
© ISTOCK.COM, JOSE LUIS CALVO MARTIN & JOSE ENRIQUE GARCIA-MAURIÑO MUZQUIZ

Fat has long been demonized as a sign of poor health, but the relationship between fat and well-being is not so cut and dry. Humans have many different types of fat—including white, beige, and brown adipose tissue—not all of which widen our waistlines. While white fat stores calories as energy for leaner times, brown fat is enriched with mitochondria that burn up lipids, converting chemical energy into heat when our body temperature drops.

Compared to white fat, which collects along the midsection and hips, brown fat tends to reside deeper in the body, making it more difficult to study. Until 2009, scientists weren’t even sure that adults retained their brown fat beyond childhood, and as a result, very little ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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