Good fat and bad fat cells. They set the difference between being able to shed excess pounds and keeping them on no matter how hard we diet and exercise.
Researchers from Melbourne's Monash University are now finding that it may all be in the mind: our brains hold the key to producing hormones that can help us lose those extra pounds once and for all.
The researchers discovered that fat is not simply dead weight that we carry around and must struggle to shed. It is a living part of us that we can train our brains to help our body get rid of with the help of two naturally occurring hormones: insulin and leptin.
According to the study, which was published in the journal Cell, leptin, an appetite suppressant, and insulin, which is produced when glucose levels in the body rise, help tell the brain how much energy reserves, or fat, is present in the body.
The brain will thus release enzymes called phosphatases, triggered by the signals given by these two hormones, to inhibit them and convert stubborn white fat into brown fat, which is easier to burn.
The researchers hope to be able to target those enzymes to help promote the conversion of white fat cells into brown fat in order to help combat the obesity epidemic and help with therapies for people suffering from type 2 diabetes.
"Eventually, we think we may be able to help people lose weight by targeting these two enzymes. Turning white fat into brown fat is a very exciting new approach to developing weight loss agents. But it is not an easy task, and any potential therapy is a long way off," said the study's lead researcher Prof. Tony Tiganis.
