14 DAY TRIAL // Figures recently released by specialists with the World Health Organization and public health researchers stand as proof that obesity rates are on the rise on a global scale.
In fact, it was this past May that scientists with the University of Washington in the US released a report saying that in 2013 there were 2.1 overweight and obese individuals in the world.
Just to put things into perspective, it need be said that, back in 1980, the number of obese and overweight people in the world amounted to just 857 million.
The good news is that scientists are hard at work trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Thus, this past October 16, researchers with the University of Bonn in Germany published a paper detailing a novel way to melt fat away.
Using basic biology to do away with love handles
The paper in question, available in the journal Nature, explains that humans pack two very different types of fat in their bodies. Specifically, your average Joe or Jane packs both so-called white fat cells and brown fat cells.
Professor Alexander Pfeifer and fellow researchers go on to detail that, whereas brown fat cells are in charge of converting excess energy into heat and are, therefore, beneficial, white fat cells simply hang around, forming love handles and whatnot.
The scientists argue that the key to getting fit and keeping in shape is getting rid of all the white fat cells and keeping just the brown ones.
What's more, they claim that significant weight loss can also be achieved by pushing the brown cells into overdrive and getting them to use more energy.
“Not all fat is equal. If we are able to activate brown fat cells or to convert white fat cells into brown ones, it might be possible to simply melt excess fat away,” University of Bonn researcher Alexander Pfeifer told the press in a recent interview.
The researchers believe that this can be achieved with the help of a simple molecule dubbed adenosine. Thus, having carried out a series of experiments, the researcher found that adenosine, which is naturally produced by the body during times of stress, can stimulate brown fat cells and make them burn more energy from fat.
What's more, it appears that, if genetically engineered to carry a receptor known to the scientific community as A2A, white fat cells can turn brown when exposed to adenosine and get to work burning energy themselves.
Not yet a valid treatment option
As detailed in the journal Nature, the scientists behind this research project have until now used adenosine to treat obesity in laboratory rats and mice. By the looks of it, they obtained fairly encouraging results. As Professor Alexander Pfeifer put it, “Through the administration of adenosine-like substances, the mice actually lost weight.”
However, the scientists have not yet conducted any experiments on human volunteers, and chances are that it will be a while before they do. Hence, it's safe to assume that it will be a few more years until this novel method of getting rid of love handles becomes a valid treatment option for folks affected by obesity.