

Fat that makes you thin  - prat
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327211.200-the-fat-that-makes-you-thin.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=genetics

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mhotchen
This is an interesting discovery, but I have a question about its uses for
anyone that knows more about nutrition and/or biology than myself: If Bob has
50 grams of brown fat in his body and John has 0, how does Bob have an
advantage over John? My perception is that Bob now has to eat 500 more
calories per day than John just to survive. That doesn't seem like an
advantage to me.

Am I missing something?

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voidpointer
If we were still hunting for our food in the woods that wouldn't be an
advantage and that may explain why in the cause of evolution, getting rid of
brown fat with growing age, was a fitness criteria. In our "developed world"
however, there is such a large availability of calories, that some people get
more than enough. For those, being able to burn more, would be an advantage.
Unless they are planning to go on a polar expedition anytime soon :)

I agree with your general sentiment though. Whether you could burn 500
calories more or eat 500 calories less isn't much of a difference. However, a
drug that makes you burn 500 more calories and allows you to enjoy more eating
is probably something that you can sell to a lot of people. Telling them to
get their act together and eat right isn't that easily translated into profit.

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mhotchen
I never thought about why people want to lose weight; I just assumed it was so
that they can be healthy, but I suppose it could be entirely superficial for a
sizeable crowd. Obviously, the health benefits of something like this would be
minimal, but it would be great if someone just wanted to eat more junk food
and not put on extra weight.

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thasmin
The health benefits to losing weight could be incredible. For example, the
risk of a heart attack would drop and there would be less stress on the knees
and ankles.

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prat
>A mere 50 grams of brown fat - well within the range of what some of us
already have - could dissipate around 500 calories a day.

Amazing.

