Trial reportThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2014
Increased brown adipose tissue oxidative capacity in cold-acclimated humans.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 157 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
157 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 301 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of climate change on childhood obesity: an updated systematic literature review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions associated with brown adipose tissue activation and the impact on energy expenditure and weight loss: A systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Whole-Body Cryotherapy Combined With Conventional Obesity Management Versus Obesity Management Alone: A Clinical Trial.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- No evidence of brown adipose tissue activation after 24 weeks of supervised exercise training in young sedentary adults in the ACTIBATE randomized controlled trial.Nature communications · 2022Trial
- Cold-Induced Thermogenesis Shows a Diurnal Variation That Unfolds Differently in Males and Females.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Trial
- Quantification of the Capacity for Cold-Induced Thermogenesis in Young Men With and Without Obesity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2019Trial
- Near-Infrared Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy as an Indirect Technique to Assess Brown Adipose Tissue in Young Women.Molecular imaging and biology · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Measurement of Brown Adipose Tissue Activity Using Microwave Radiometry andJournal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine · 2018Trial
- Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Induces Hypothermia During Acute Cold Stress.Clinical drug investigation · 2017Trial
- Mapping of human brown adipose tissue in lean and obese young men.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Trial
- Thermogenic adipocytes promote HDL turnover and reverse cholesterol transport.Nature communications · 2017Trial
- Brown Adipose Tissue Activation Is Linked to Distinct Systemic Effects on Lipid Metabolism in Humans.Cell metabolism · 2016Trial
- The thermogenic responses to overfeeding and cold are differentially regulated.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2016Trial
- Chronic ephedrine administration decreases brown adipose tissue activity in a randomised controlled human trial: implications for obesity.Diabetologia · 2015Trial
- Brown Adipose Tissue: Molecular Mechanisms of Regulation, Physiological Functions, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2026Review
- Cardiometabolic effects of contrast therapy: A systematic review.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Macrophage-derived itaconate is a negative regulator of adipose tissue thermogenesis.Nature metabolism · 2026Article
- UCP1-Dependent Thermogenic Adipose Tissue in Human Disease: Adipose-Centered Mechanisms, Biomarker Limitations, and Translational Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Functional and metabolomic analyses of brown adipose tissue during cold-deacclimation reveal rapid N-acetylated amino acid adaptations.iScience · 2026Article
97 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
contextRecent studies examining brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism in adult humans have provided convincing evidence of its thermogenic potential and role in clearing circulating glucose and fatty acids under acute mild cold exposure. In contrast, early indications suggest that BAT metabolism is defective in obesity and type 2 diabetes, which may have important pathological and therapeutic implications. Although many mammalian models have demonstrated the phenotypic flexibility of this tissue through chronic cold exposure, little is known about the metabolic plasticity of BAT in humans.
objectiveOur objective was to determine whether 4 weeks of daily cold exposure could increase both the volume of metabolically active BAT and its oxidative capacity.
designSix nonacclimated men were exposed to 10°C for 2 hours daily for 4 weeks (5 d/wk), using a liquid-conditioned suit. Using electromyography combined with positron emission tomography with [(11)C]acetate and [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose, shivering intensity and BAT oxidative metabolism, glucose uptake, and volume before and after 4 weeks of cold acclimation were examined under controlled acute cold-exposure conditions.
resultsThe 4-week acclimation protocol elicited a 45% increase in BAT volume of activity (from 66 ± 30 to 95 ± 28 mL, P < .05) and a 2.2-fold increase in cold-induced total BAT oxidative metabolism (from 0.725 ± 0.300 to 1.591 ± 0.326 mL·s(-1), P < .05). Shivering intensity was not significantly different before compared with after acclimation (2.1% ± 0.7% vs 2.0% ± 0.5% maximal voluntary contraction, respectively). Fractional glucose uptake in BAT increased after acclimation (from 0.035 ± 0.014 to 0.048 ± 0.012 min(-1)), and net glucose uptake also trended toward an increase (from 163 ± 60 to 209 ± 50 nmol·g(-1)·min(-1)).
conclusionsThese findings demonstrate that daily cold exposure not only increases the volume of metabolically active BAT but also increases its oxidative capacity and thus its contribution to cold-induced thermogenesis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.