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.

Hanging in front of the abdomen like an apron, the depot of visceral fat known as the omentum helps regulate immune responses.

Limiting food intake leads to the conversion of white fat cells into more metabolically active brown fat cells through an immune response, a mouse study shows.