A significant percentage of people might believe that fat is an all-encompassing term, but the reality is that two subgroups–known as white, and brown–exist in varying proportions in the body. Metabolically, white fat functions primarily to store and conserve energy, while brown fat expends energy in a heat generating, calorie-burning process known as thermogenesis. Until recently it was unclear just what type of physiological trigger activated this metabolic shift, but a recent study has identified the protein which “instructs” brown fat to start its engines.

The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories at the Institute of Metabolic Science, discovered that the protein known as BMP8B acts on a specific metabolic system to regulate brown fat.

The experiments showed that when mice lacked the protein BMP8B they found it more difficult to regulate normal body temperature. They also accumulated greater amounts of body fat when fed a high-fat diet as compared to normal mice. However, when BMP8B was administered to specific parts of the brain it increased the amount of nervous activation of brown adipose tissue. In addition, when the researchers treated brown fat cells directly with BMP8B they responded more strongly to neural activation. The end results were that these BMP8B-treated brown fat cells burned more fat and mice given BMP8B in the brain lost weight.

Professor Toni Vidal-Puig, lead author of the study from the Institute of Metabolic Science and a member of the MRC Centre for Obesity and Related Metabolic Diseases, said: “A major feature of current weight-loss strategies is that people lose a lot of weight early on, but then reach a plateau despite continuing to follow the same diet regime. This is because the human body is incredibly good at sensing a reduction in food consumption and slows the metabolic rate to compensate.”

The scientists believe that activating brown fat could eventually help to support current weight loss programs, which individuals often struggle to maintain. Finding a potential metabolic “director” is a highly promising application in the acceleration and maintenance of progress in weight management. While it seems that nothing will completely eclipse the role of diet, exercise and patience, this discovery is encouraging, and may find prompt further development in the near future.

Scientists have conducted specific studies of humans and animals and discovered that sleep plays a critical role in memory and learning, but also immune function and basic metabolism. It seems that sleep plays a role not only in how energetic we feel, but also the way in which we generate energy.

To prevent or limit excessive weight gain—another metabolic byproduct—a recent animal study provides new insights into the importance of circadian rhythms and their interaction with normal metabolism. Researchers studied two groups of mice with both these rhythms and the genes responsible in mind.

One group was genetically normal, while the other group lacked what is known as the Rev-Erb alpha gene, responsible for biological circadian rhythms. In the mice lacking the Rev-Erb alpha gene, research determined that they became obese and hyperglycemic. This was the case even if they ate the same quantity of food at the same time as normal mice.

Further investigation indicated that the major difference between the two groups was in the way Rev-Erb alpha-deficient mice metabolized the food they ate. The Rev-Erb alpha deficient mice metabolically created much more fat than the normal mice—this shift occurred specifically during the feeding period. Additionally, the Rev-Erb-alpha deficient mice were observed to rely less on carbohydrate stores for fuel when they were at rest. This suggests that when abiding by “normal” hours of sleep, the body is more inclined to indiscriminately burn calories rather than store them away.

“It is now clear that impairment of daily rhythms such as shift-work, exposure to artificial lighting, or jet-lag has multiple adverse effects on human health, every effort should be made to maintain or restore normal temporal organization and to avoid potentially disruptive behaviors such as nocturnal meals or light exposure at night”, said Etienne Challet, Ph.D., a contributing researcher.

From a personal point of view, it seems obvious that sleep is beneficial. We all know from experience that when going without sleep, consequences ensue, and that getting a good night’s sleep will often make us feel ready to take on the world. The benefits, apparently, extend well beyond that feeling—proper sleep yields demonstrable benefits for health and weight management.