Brown adipose tissue is partially responsible for generating heat in he young human body.

Question

Brown adipose tissue is partially responsible for generating heat in

he young human body.

TRUE /FALSE

Answer 1

True.

Answer 2

This is true.  Baby mammals, including humans, are born with stores of brown adipose tissue (aka BAT) deposited on their back and chest.  BAT 'burns' fat while white adipose tissue stores fat, though both tissues can be found intermixed, even in adults.  As you grow older, you lose much of your BAT, but some remains near your clavicles.  

How does BAT generate heat?  It contains a lot of mitochondria - the energy powerhouses of the cell, and a lot of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1).    The mitochondria oxidize, or break down, a lot more foodstuffs than in other cell types because UCP1 allows all the energy generated to be wasted!  It uncouples oxidative phosphorylation by short-circuiting ATP synthase, so a lot less ATP is made and the wasted energy, uncoupled to any work, is lost as heat.  The UCP1 is key to the heat generation in BAT.