The emergence of brown adipose tissue (BAT) as a potentially major player in our efforts to combat obesity and metabolic diseases in humans has stirred high hopes from the optimists and skepticism from the pessimists. Although for decades many had insisted, without success that adult humans have active BAT stores [1], the presence of BAT in humans was recognized in 2007 [2] and the scientific community unequivocally accepted the presence of metabolically active BAT in humans, only recently [3]. Since then, the epidemiology and physiology of human BAT is under intense investigation. Many sessions in scientific conferences have been devoted to BAT metabolism and at least two international research conferences focused specifically on BAT metabolism are scheduled for 2012. So, what is the significance of BAT in weight regulation and metabolic control in humans?
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