Abstract

The discovery of metabolically active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans has fuelled the research of diverse aspects of this previously neglected tissue. BAT is solely present in mammals and its clearest physiological role is non-shivering thermogenesis, owing to the capacity ofbrown adipocytes to dissipate metabolic energy as heat. Recently, a number of other possible functions have been proposed, including direct regulation of glucose and lipid homeostasis and the secretion of a number of factors with diverse regulatory actions. Herein, we review recent advances in general biological knowledge ofBAT and discuss the possible implications ofthis tissue in humanmetabolic health. In particular, we confront the claimed thermogenic potential of BAT for human energy balance and body mass regulation, mostly based on animal studies, with the most recent quantifications ofhuman BAT.