Activate 'good fat' to combat diabetes, researchers say

Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are common conditions among people using home care.

Activating the body's 'good' fat could be instrumental in reducing the levels of these conditions, according to a study published in journal Endocrinology.

Researchers uncovered two molecular pathways key to activating the brown fat, allowing them to look for ways to modify these pathways in order to stimulate the fat's natural function.

Brown fat is known to burn energy, while white fat stores it.

According to lead author Aaron Cypess, this discovery provides "a very important piece of the puzzle".

"It provides new opportunities. The point is that we have got to learn how to grow these brown fat cells. There's a lot of missing information. We filled in some of the important missing pieces," he said.

It is becoming increasingly important to fight diabetes, with new research in journal Neurology indicating that those with the condition are at double the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

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