Fat Chance

Slimming pills peddled by quack doctors have disappointed millions of people – but laboratory experiments have now identified two substances that really can make your body burn excess calories instead of putting on weight. We all have white fat cells that store energy and a much smaller number of brown ones that convert energy to body heat. Scientists tested 1,000 chemical compounds to find two that changed the internal workings of white fat cells (pictured, stained green), so that they behaved like brown cells. Changing the body’s natural balance of fat cells in favour of brown ones could be an important weapon in the fight against obesity. However, years of safety testing lies ahead before a ‘fat busting pill’ could be produced – and it would be a very poor substitute for a healthy diet and exercise.

Written by Mick Warwicker

Mick Warwicker

Writer

A freelance communications consultant and writer, Mick specialises in science and education. A science graduate and award-winning print and broadcast journalist, he was Head of Communications at Newcastle University from 2000–2011.

Website

• Image by Tim Ahfeldt
• Harvard University
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in Nature Cell Biology, December 2014