They reveal why children are NOT cold outside

Health
By Oliver
Brown fat gets its color because it's packed with iron-rich mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell. Unlike white fat, which is a store of energy, brown fat uses its power in the mitochondria to burn its own energy. When this fat is burned, it can generate heat without shivering, which is called thermogenesis. As shown in the image above, babies have more brown fat than adults.

Have you ever wondered why kids can’t seem to feel the cold outside?

Well, scientists say there’s a reason adults often freeze when wearing a sweater and youngsters are happy in shorts, even in icy conditions.

And it’s not just that they constantly jump.

Your secret? Have more brown fat: specialized fat cells designed to generate heat and keep the body’s internal temperature at 37°C (98.6°F).

Unlike white fat, which is seen in abundance around the stomach, buttocks, and chin, the brown type is invisibly and compactly distributed inside, especially around the shoulder blades, spine, and kidneys.

It makes up about 5 percent of a newborn’s body fat, but levels gradually decline with age, leaving adults more vulnerable to colder temperatures.

Brown fat gets its color because it's packed with iron-rich mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell. Unlike white fat, which is a store of energy, brown fat uses its power in the mitochondria to burn its own energy. When this fat is burned, it can generate heat without shivering, which is called thermogenesis. As shown in the image above, babies have more brown fat than adults.

Brown fat gets its color because it’s packed with iron-rich mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell. Unlike white fat, which is a store of energy, brown fat uses its power in the mitochondria to burn its own energy. When this fat is burned, it can generate heat without shivering, which is called thermogenesis. As shown in the image above, babies have more brown fat than adults.

In addition to keeping us warm in winter, our bodies also have their own methods of staying warm. Adults shiver and the brown fat also helps generate heat. But young children have more brown fat than adults, which could explain why they seem hot even in winter.

In addition to keeping us warm in winter, our bodies also have their own methods of staying warm. Adults shiver and the brown fat also helps generate heat. But young children have more brown fat than adults, which could explain why they seem hot even in winter.

In addition to keeping us warm in winter, our bodies also have their own methods of staying warm. Adults shiver and the brown fat also helps generate heat. But young children have more brown fat than adults, which could explain why they seem hot even in winter.

Brown fat gets its color because it’s packed with mitochondria, the iron-rich powerhouses of the cell.

Its counterpart, the white variety, acts as a reserve for the body’s organs to burn energy.

However, when the body is exposed to cold, around 16°C, brown fat kicks in and starts its engine to generate heat in a scientific process called thermogenesis.

It does this by burning extra calories, breaking down blood sugar and fat molecules floating around the body.

And it is for this very reason that experts also think that it could be a secret weapon to help beat the bulge.

Dr Dayn Sellayah, an expert in cellular and organ metabolism based at the University of Reading, told MailOnline that this ability is due to a unique protein in brown fat.

Uncoupling protein 1, as it is scientifically known, allows brown fat to break down glucose and fat molecules to generate heat.

What is brown fat?

Brown fat, which gets its color because it’s packed with iron-rich mitochondria, is the powerhouse of the cell.

Unlike white fat, which acts as a reservoir for the body’s organs to burn energy, brown fat itself can burn energy.

When the body is exposed to cold temperatures, this fat burns energy to generate heat without shivering, called thermogenesis.

Dr Dayn Sellayah, professor of cellular and organ metabolism at the University of Reading, told MailOnline this is due to a unique protein in brown fat called Uncoupling Protein 1.

This allows brown fat to burn energy to generate heat, unlike other cells that need to break down glucose for energy.

And where it is located on the body, including the neck, shoulders, upper arms, spine, and tummy, means it overlaps with blood vessels, allowing it to warm the blood, which is pumped by the heart throughout the body.

And where it is located on the body, including the neck, shoulders, upper arms, spine, and tummy, means it overlaps with blood vessels, allowing it to warm the blood, which is pumped by the heart throughout the body.

While adults rely on shivering, when muscles rapidly contract to create heat and keep the body warm, babies don’t develop this mechanism until about six months of age.

This means that they rely more on brown fat to keep warm.

And levels don’t start to decline until adulthood, which may explain why the young seem less susceptible to colds.

Dr Sellayah said: ‘Babies and young children have large amounts of brown fat.

“This is particularly necessary in the immediate postnatal period when newborns experience a sudden negative temperature gradient from the womb to the hospital ward.

“Also, babies can’t use shivering as a defense against the cold.”

Women also have a little more than men.

But it’s not just brown fat that keeps us warm.

The more white fat adults have, the fat that accumulates when you eat more calories than you burn, the less likely they are to feel cold.

This is because even white fat has some mitochondria that produce heat, according to Professor Kieran Clarke, an expert in physiological biochemistry at the University of Oxford.

In addition, he believes that “thin children still feel cold.”

Thinner people tend to have more brown fat than fatter people, according to a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Adults may increase their levels of brown fat when exposed to cold, some experts in the field believe.

Increasing your exposure to cold temperatures can cause stem cells, which can transform into many different types of cells, to form brown fat cells instead of white fat.

That is, at least, according to a study published in the journal scientific reports in 2018.

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