Abstract
Background: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) provides a minor contribution to diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT)—the metabolic response to food consumption. Increased BAT activity is generally considered beneficial for mammalian metabolism and has been associated with favorable health outcomes. The aim of the current systematic review was to explore whether nutritional factors and/or diet affect human BAT activity. Methods: We searched PubMed Central, Embase and Cochrane Library (trials) to conduct this systematic review (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42018082323). Results: We included 24 eligible papers that studied a total of 2785 participants. We found no mean differences in standardized uptake value of BAT following a single meal or after 6 weeks of L-Arginine supplementation. Resting energy expenditure (REE), however, was increased following a single meal and after supplementation of capsinoid and catechin when compared to a control condition (Z = 2.41, p = 0.02; mean difference = 102.47 (95% CI = 19.28–185.67)). Conclusions: Human BAT activity was not significantly affected by nutrition/diet. Moreover, REE was only increased in response to a single meal, but it is unlikely that this was due to increased BAT activity. BAT activity assessments in response to the chronic effect of food should be considered along with other factors such as body composition and/or environmental temperature.
Highlights
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is located in the lower neck, collarbone, abdomen, and along the spine in humans [1]
As BAT activity represents a minor component of diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) [3], we considered publications that examined DIT to explain the thermogenic effect of food in humans
For the eligible randomized controlled trials (RCT), we used the Cochrane Library tool for risk of bias assessment [34], while for the eligible observational design studies, we evaluated the risk of bias via the 13-item of Research Triangle Institute item bank [35], which is designed for observational studies and has previously shown median interrater agreement of 75% [36] and
Summary
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is located in the lower neck, collarbone, abdomen, and along the spine in humans [1]. It is activated through the release of norepinephrine from the sympathetic nervous system that triggers adrenergic receptors on the surface of brown adipocytes [2]. Uncoupling protein one (UCP1) utilizes potential energy created by a proton gradient to generate heat rather than adenosine triphosphate (ATP) [2] This phenomenon occurs during (1) non-shivering thermogenesis characterized by heat production during cold exposure [2], or (2) as a minor contribution to diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) [3,4]. Methods: We searched PubMed Central, Embase and Cochrane Library (trials) to conduct this systematic review (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42018082323)
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