To lose weight, most experts say it’s simple: Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
But according to researchers from Sydney University, you may not need to exercise at all.
Reporting in the journal Cell Metabolism, scientists say people exposed to a temperature below 59F for just 15 minutes experience hormonal changes equivalent to an hour of moderate exercise, as well as the creation of brown fat, a fat shown to increase a person’s metabolism.
“Our results showed that moderate exposure to cold may be helpful, but the importance of a healthy diet and regular exercise should not be neglected,” says Dr. Paul Lee, a researcher from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research. “The more brown fat an adult has, the leaner they are and the lower their blood sugar is. If we can increase the amount of brown fat in the body, it may protect people from gaining weight and developing diabetes.”
In conclusion, researchers say there may be a new way to battle the obesity epidemic–and it may be as simple as enjoying the winter chill.
Why Shivering Helps You Stay Slim
Recruiting a group of healthy adults, Lee and his researchers tasked themselves with figuring out how brown fat is increased in the body–something that in previous studies was linked to being exposed to cold temperatures. In their newest study, they asked the adults to stay in a cool, but not cold environment, averring out to less than 59F.
They then observed how their bodies reacted to this temperature and how it affected the amount of brown fat in their bodies. Specifically, they were looking at how the temperature affected irisin secretion, something that usually increases after moderate exercise.
The results, they discovered, were just too good.
“We identified two hormones that are stimulated by cold–irisin and FGF21–released from shivering muscle and brown fat respectively,” says Lee. “These hormones fired up the energy-burning rate of human white fat cells in the laboratory, and the treated fat cells began to emit heat, a hallmark of brown fat function.”
As for the effects of irisin, the effects of shivering were far more pronounced than expected–in just 15 minutes, participants produced levels of irisin equivalent to an hour of moderate exercise. In turn, researchers believe that lowering your thermostat at home could also help you stay slim in the long run.
“From a clinical point of view, irisin and FGF21 represent a cold-stimulated hormone system, which was previously unknown, and may be harnessed in future obesity therapeutics through brown fat activation,” says Lee. “The current strategies against obesity are not curbing the rise. Brown fat may not be a solution on its own, but it opens new avenues.”
What You Should Do
Having a hard time keeping the weight off? Instead of lowering your calorie intake, try lowering the temperature inside of your home instead–in just 15 minutes you’ll experience a metabolism boost similar to an hour of exercise.
Readers: Would you try this to lose weight?
Sources:
Shivering Can Help You Stay Slim – Telegraph.co.uk
Shivering: The New Way to Burn Fat? – TheAustralian.com.au
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