Fat? Cold temperatures help, see how.......

 Colder temperatures help the body burn calories, by converting so-called 'bad' fat into 'good' fat

It's that time of year when turning on the heating can be extremely tempting.

But resisting the urge won't just save you money - it could also help you lose weight. 

A new study has found that colder temperatures help the body burn calories, by converting so-called 'bad' fat into 'good' fat.

The theory hinges on the different properties of two types of fat.

The troublesome white variety that we are all too familiar with soaks up extra calories and stores them in big bellies, love handles and saddlebag thighs.

But adults also have a small amount of a second 'healthy fat'.

This brown fat specialises in burning off calories and generates heat as it does so.

Babies have lots of brown fat to keep them warm and adults that have more brown fat are slimmer than those without.

This could help explain why they remain a healthy weight without much effort, while others struggle to lose weight. 

Previous research has suggested it's possible to make more of it simply by keeping cool.

In the new study, scientists uncovered a molecular process in the brain known to control eating - but also transforms white fat into brown fat. 

This process impacts how much energy we burn and how much weight we can lose.

Hunger is the main cause for this evolutionary trigger but being exposed to cold also has the same effect.

The Yale University researchers say the study findings could help in the fight against obesity and related health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, neurological disorders and cancer. 

The study, published in the journal Cell, showed that neurons in the brain that control hunger and appetite also control the 'browning' of white fat.

Researchers stimulated this browning process in mice and found it protected the animals from becoming obese on a high-fat diet.

The changes in hunger-promoting neurons in the brain were then studied.

Earlier this year, Australian researchers found people who slept in colder rooms for a month lost weight

Scientists found a unique sugar acted as a switch to control brain activity - and burn fat.

Professor Xiaoyong Yang, associate professor of comparative medicine and physiology, said: 'Our studies reveal white fat 'browning' as a highly dynamic physiological process that the brain controls,.

'This work indicates that behavioural modifications promoted by the brain could influence how the amount of food we eat and store in fat is burned.'  

The discovery of this brain-to-fat connection could also lead to new strategies to combat obesity, he said.

Earlier this year, Australian researchers warned cosy, centrally heated bedrooms may be making us fat – meaning losing weight could be as simple as turning down the radiator.

They found people who slept in colder rooms for a month did lose weight.

Dr Lee, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, said: 'The big unknown in this study was whether or not we could actually manipulate brown fat to grow and shrink in a human being.

'What we found was that the cold month increased brown fat by around 30-40 per cent.'

The brown fat didn't just keep the men warm when it was cool indoors, it also made it easier for their bodies to process sugar.