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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy induces brown adipose tissue making it a potential tool for metabolic disorders

Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) can be activated to increase glucose uptake and energy expenditure, making it a potential target for treating obesity and metabolic disease. Brown fat produces heat to help maintain your body temperature in cold conditions and its glucose uptake is ~8-fold higher than that of skeletal muscles, on average, per gram of tissue during mild cold exposure

In this animal study, a 7 day course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy was able to cause an increase glucose uptake while also inducing BAT development, leading the authors to conclude that “HBO therapy as a novel method of inducing BAT development, considering its therapeutic potential for the treatment of metabolic disorders” <view study>