Obesity is a problem in the U.S. By the year 2030 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts 42 percent of Americans will be obese. And what makes matters worse, many of these people carry the bulk of their fat in their bellies, which studies have shown can lead to all sorts of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
Now researchers at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center are finding that injecting a tiny capsule of heat generating cells into the tummies of mice helped them turn their white or bad fat, which stores fats in the body, into brown fat. Brown fat is good, because it revs up the metabolism, which led the mice to to initially lose about 20 percent of belly fat after 80 days of treatment.
Overtime the mice did gain some weight back, but it wasn't dramatic. But most importantly, researchers found, the injection also caused a reduction in visceral fat, which is fat that surrounds the organs, and is a main factor in serious conditions, such as heart disease.
If the vaccine is developed for humans, it will more than likely not be used as a weight reduction device, just yet, but more for those who are incapable of exercising, such as the elderly or the physically impaired.
Now researchers at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center are finding that injecting a tiny capsule of heat generating cells into the tummies of mice helped them turn their white or bad fat, which stores fats in the body, into brown fat. Brown fat is good, because it revs up the metabolism, which led the mice to to initially lose about 20 percent of belly fat after 80 days of treatment.
Overtime the mice did gain some weight back, but it wasn't dramatic. But most importantly, researchers found, the injection also caused a reduction in visceral fat, which is fat that surrounds the organs, and is a main factor in serious conditions, such as heart disease.
If the vaccine is developed for humans, it will more than likely not be used as a weight reduction device, just yet, but more for those who are incapable of exercising, such as the elderly or the physically impaired.
