A recent study shows that brown fat may play a role in weight loss. Brown fat, or brown adipose tissue (BAT), is one of a few types of fats found in humans. The other two types of fat are white and yellow fat. Thin people have more brown fat than overweight people, and some obese people have almost no brown fat at all. Young people have more brown fat than older people and young women more brown fat than men. White fat tends to accumulates around the waist and thighs, as opposed to brown fat appears which accumulates in the front and back of the neck

According to research out of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, brown fat burns calories like a furnace and is activated when people get cold, taking fat out of the rest of the body to create fuel for itself. Much more research is need but the findings could be used eventually be used to find new ways of fighting obesity.

Carla Snuggs is a freelance writer for Endless Beauty.