Brown Fat in Humans: Consensus Points and Experimental Guidelines

• Evidence suggests that most, if not all, adult humans have activatable hBAT in the neck region
• 18F-FDG-PET/CT is informative but not sufficient for detection of hBAT mass and activation
• It is not yet known if hBAT constitutes a good target for obesity therapy
• hBAT has health benefits beyond cold tolerance, such as in bone and metabolic health

As part of a current worldwide effort to understand the physiology of human BAT (hBAT) and whether its thermogenic activity can be manipulated to treat obesity, the workshop “Exploring the Roles of Brown Fat in Humans” was convened at the National Institutes of Health on February 25–26, 2014. Presentations and discussion indicated that hBAT and its physiological roles are highly complex, and research is needed to understand the health impact of hBAT beyond thermogenesis and body weight regulation, and to define its interactions with core physiological processes like glucose homeostasis, cachexia, physical activity, bone structure, sleep, and circadian rhythms.