Fascinating new research suggests a different type of fat, called brown fat, may help thousands to lose weight. This would be ideal for many who want to improve their health and appearance.

According to WebMD, researchers recently found that cold temperatures may help us make more of this “good fat” that can boost our metabolism and burn calories.

So what is this brown fat the study is talking about?

 It’s a type of body fat that creates heat. It’s reddish-brown in color because it’s packed full of the power producers in cells, called mitochondria, which give cells energy by turning calories into heat, WebMD reports.

Philipp Scherer,a professor of internal medicine and cell biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas told WweMD: “Everyone is born with brown fat. Babies have an abundance of it. It helps keep them warm as they exit the womb.”

Scherer says people tend to lose brown fat as they get older, and researchers haven’t found out why this is.

He explains that brown fat might make up a small amount of an adult’s total body fat. But more and more studies are showing that some adults have higher levels of brown fat than expected.

It’s sprinkled in between areas of white body fat, usually in the:

Neck

Upper chest

Shoulders

Brown fat is believed to burn calorie-loaded fats called lipids.

So how can one gain brown fat?

 According to WeMD taking a walk in winter may be the best way to gain brown fat.

Evidence shows that as the temperature drops, the amount of calorie-burning brown fat goes up. But experts say there may not be a recommended temperature, and the impact of how long you stay in the cold isn’t clear.

A small study earlier this year suggested that long-term exposure to cold may spur brown fat growth, while warmth appeared to suppress it. Researchers followed five men ages 19-23 for 4 months and set the temperature in the rooms where they slept.