Zee Media Bureau\Philaso G Kaping
New Delhi: Researchers have discovered the reason behind why exercise is beneficial for good health.
In the new study, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, found that a molecule released by muscles during exercise changes white fat cells into brown fat and improves blood sugar levels in mice.
The molecule called B-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) is identified as a metabolite that increases fat cells' expression of genes that are involved with burning calories, according to reports.
"Our finding bolsters the underlying notion that signals generated in one organ-such as exercising muscle-are released into the circulation and influence other tissues such as fat cells and liver," said senior author Dr. Robert Gerszten, of the Cardiology Division and Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
The researchers further analysed participants in the Framingham Heart Study and found that BAIBA levels rise during exercise and are inversely associated with metabolic risk factors.
Specifically, BAIBA levels were inversely correlated with fasting blood sugar levels, insulin, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. In addition, there was a trend toward an inverse association with body mass index.
"Manipulating BAIBA—or the enzymes that generate BAIBA—may have therapeutic potential," says Gerszten."Burning fat is likely to impact multiple aspects of metabolic health related to diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions."
The study has been published in the January edition of Cell Metabolism.
