Research paper looks at a hot way to treat obesity
A team from East China Normal University has found that local hyperthermia therapy, which involves applying heat to a small tissue, can help treat obesity and improve metabolic disorders.
"Local hyperthermia therapy induces browning of white fat and treats obesity" was published in the scientific journal Cell on March 4.The research paper is a joint effort of the life science school at East China Normal University and Hu Cheng, a researcher in metabolic disease genetics from the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Mammals, including humans and mice, have white, brown and beige fats with different functions. White fats store heat while brown ones burn to create heat. Meanwhile, beige fats function as white fats when still but produce heat like brown ones when stimulated. People typically rely on intensive exercise to trigger the burning of fat. Such an activity carries a risk of side effects, especially for those who are overweight.