Okay, sunlight isn’t the next miracle weight loss solution, but it is associated with the activity of Brown fat, which is the fat that burns more calories than any other tissue and is more active in the winter.
You have two types of fat in your body Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue. BAT can produce 300 times more heat per unit than all other tissue. This means more energy expenditure, which means more calories burned. However, we naturally have less BAT as adults, and on top of that, research has shown that BAT activity is reduced with obesity.
New research led by Professor Michael Symonds at The University of Nottingham has shown for the first time that one of the main mechanisms that control BAT activity is sunlight. So…this winter turn off the central heating, head outdoors and get some sun. That is if it’s not cloudy, which it often is in the winter...
On the bright side (no pun intended), when it is cold outside, we'll be exercising to keep warm. It's a win, win situation.
Image: Odalaigh – Flickr
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