When the cold gets under your skin: Evidence for brown adipose tissue activity in Samoan adults

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a heat-producing organ aiding nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) during cold stress. Due to its potential cold-adaptive role BAT has been predominantly studied in cold and temperate climate populations, but not among warm-climate adults. This work explores if BAT activity can be inferred in Samoans.

We inferred BAT activity by comparing metabolic rate and surface heat dissipation using indirect calorimetry and thermal imaging between room temperature and cold exposure among Samoans (N = 61, females: n = 38) from 'Upolu Island, Samoa. BAT activity was inferred using ANOVA linear regression models with the variables measured at cold exposure as outcomes. T-tests were used to compare changes in surface temperature between room temperature and cold exposure.

Metabolic rate significantly increased after cooling. In both the supraclavicular area, a known BAT location, and the sternum, a non-BAT location, temperatures decreased significantly upon cold exposure. Differences in supraclavicular temperatures between room temperature and cold were significantly smaller than differences in sternum temperatures between exposures. These results suggest that BAT thermogenesis occurred in known BAT-locations and thus contributed to NST during cooling.

This study adds to our understanding of BAT activity across different populations and climates. Further study may illuminate whether the cold-adaptive properties of BAT may have played a role in the successful expansion of populations across the globe, including warm-climate groups.