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If a workout feels like more pain than gain, here's some motivation: Exercise releases a hormone that helps the body shed fat and keeps it from forming.
A group led by a University of Florida Health researcher has learned more about how the hormone irisin helps convert calorie-storing white fat cells into brown fat cells that burn energy. Irisin, which surges when the heart and other muscles are exerted, also inhibits the formation of fatty tissue, according to the researchers.
The findings, published recently in the
American Journal of Physiology -- Endocrinology and Metabolism, show that irisin may be an attractive target for fighting obesity and diabetes, said Li-Jun Yang, M.D., a professor of hematopathology in the UF College of Medicine's department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine. The study is believed to be the first of its kind to examine the mechanisms of irisin's effect on human fat tissue and fat cells, researchers said.
Comment: Earlier this year, for instance, Barbara Bowman, Ph.D., former director of the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP),left the agency unexpectedly, two days after her close ties with Coca-Cola were revealed.
Bowman reportedly aided a Coca-Cola representative in efforts to influence World Health Organization (WHO) officials to relax recommendations on sugar limits. Bowman, however, was not the only CDC official looking out for Coca-Cola.
See also: The FDA is BigPharma's lapdog, not a watchdog for the public