What is white fat?
William Rodriguez
Published Jan 23, 2026
White adipose tissue (WAT) is the standard fat you've likely known about your whole life. It stores your energy in large fat droplets that accumulate around the body. The accumulation of fat helps keep you warm by literally providing insulation for your organs. In humans, too much white fat can cause obesity.
What causes white fat?
White fat builds up when you take in extra calories. White fat stores these extra calories to use when you don't get enough energy from food. Most of the fat in your body is white fat.
Is white fat good?
In humans, too much abdominal white fat promotes heart disease, diabetes, and many other metabolic diseases. It would be potentially therapeutic if we could transform some of our white fat into brown.
What type of fat is white fat?
There are two main types of fat cells. White fat cells are found in they body's connective tissues, usually beneath the skin (subcutaneous fat) and in the abdominal cavity (visceral fat).
Which is the example of white fat?
The white adipose tissues occur in kidney, mesentery, omenta, behind the eyeball, hypodermis of skin, etc. In other animals, they are found in the blubbers of elephant and whale, the hump of a camel, the fat bodies of frogs, and the tail of Marino sheep.
23 related questions foundWhat supplement turns white fat into brown?
Mirabegron is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a condition called overactive bladder. The drug binds to a protein on the surface of cells that's thought to also stimulate brown fat and improve the ability of white fat to break down and release its stored fat into the bloodstream.
What is the function of beige fat?
Beige fat cells , or adipocytes, are present in white adipose tissue. They can perform functions similar to both white and brown adipocytes. Generally, they act like white cells by storing energy. However, when exposed to cold temperatures, they behave like brown cells and dissipate energy by creating heat.
Can you turn white fat to brown fat?
However, how to safely increase brown fat tissue has eluded researchers, until now. In a study published by Scientific Reports , scientists report their success with a method to directly convert white fat to brown fat outside the body and then return it to the patient as a transplant.
What foods burn white fat?
Here are 11 healthy foods that help you burn fat.
- Fatty Fish. Fatty fish is delicious and incredibly good for you. ...
- MCT Oil. MCT oil is made by extracting MCTs from palm oil. ...
- Coffee. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. ...
- Eggs. ...
- Green Tea. ...
- Whey Protein. ...
- Apple Cider Vinegar. ...
- Chili Peppers.
Is brown fat heavier than white fat?
When activated, brown fat burns white fat. Although leaner adults have more brown fat than heavier people, even their brown fat cells are greatly outnumbered by white fat cells. "A 150-pound person might have 20 or 30 pounds of fat," Cypess says. "They are only going to have 2 or 3 ounces of brown fat."
What kills subcutaneous fat?
To get rid of the buildup of subcutaneous fat, you must burn energy/calories. Aerobic activity is a recommended way to burn calories and includes walking, running, cycling, swimming, and other movement-based activities that increase the heart rate.
Is my belly fat visceral or subcutaneous?
In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall.
How can I reduce visceral fat?
How can I reduce visceral fat?
- exercising for at least 30 minutes every day (for example by brisk walking, cycling, aerobic exercise and strength training)
- eating a healthy diet.
- not smoking.
- reducing sugary drinks.
- getting enough sleep.
Is brown fat or white fat good?
Very simply, white fat stores energy and calories while brown fat burns energy and calories. Because brown fat burns calories to generate heat, it is often referred to as the “good” fat.
What is the difference between white fat and brown fat?
White fat, which most of us are familiar with, stores energy in big, oily droplets throughout the body. In large quantities, it can lead to obesity. Brown fat, conversely, contains both smaller droplets and high amounts of mitochondria, which lend the tissue its chestnut color.
How do I get more beige fat?
Exercise in Cold Temperature: Swimming in cold water and exercising outside in cold weather or with the air conditioner on can stimulate some amount of white fat to heat generating beige fat. 3.
What drink burns the most fat?
Green tea—which is known as one of the best, and most powerful drinks you can consume for rapid weight loss—has shown proven scientific evidence that it unlocks fat cells, by releasing the fat and converting that into energy. The magic fat burning ingredient is a compound in green tea called catechins.
Does lemon with water burn fat?
Lemon water can promote fullness, support hydration, boost metabolism and increase weight loss. However, lemon water is no better than regular water when it comes to losing fat. That being said, it is tasty, easy to make and can be used as a low-calorie replacement for higher-calorie beverages.
How do you flush out body fat?
Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day. According to the Colon Therapists' Network, drinking plenty of water keeps the body hydrated and encourages the body to flush out fat.
Does being cold increase brown fat?
For example, cold exposure stimulates a sympathetically mediated increase in the rate of oxidative metabolism of brown and beige adipocytes. This “activation” of brown and beige fat results in increased uptake of both glucose and non-esterified, or free, fatty acids.
What spice increases brown fat?
Turmeric for Brown Fat
Turmeric's curcumin increases production of energy-producing mitochondria, which generate brown fat. Turmeric's curcumin enhances expression of proteins involved in fat oxidation.
What are beige fats?
Scientists have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans, which they say may have therapeutic potential for treating obesity. Called “beige fat,” the cells are found in scattered pea-sized deposits beneath the skin near the collarbone and along the spine in adult humans.
How can I increase brown fat naturally?
Turn the temperature down
Exposing your body to cool and even cold temperatures may help recruit more brown fat cells. Some research suggests that just 2 hours of exposure each day to temperatures around 66°F (19°C) may be enough to turn recruitable fat brown. You may consider taking a cold shower or ice bath.
When was beige fat discovered?
2.3 Beige Adipose Tissue
The discovery of BAT in human adults relaunched investigations about the browning of WAT, first discovered in the 1990s. WAT browning corresponds to the transformation of certain white fat pads into brown-like adipose tissues during cold exposure or β3-adrenergic agonist treatments.
Do fat cells go away?
A: According to scientists, fat cells never really disappear. When someone starts losing weight, the size of the fat cells decreases or shrinks. They do not 'burn' away as some people mistakenly believe.