The season of the year in which a person is conceived can favor certain characteristics, for example, if it is during the coldest time of the year, it is more prone to show a greater activity of the brown adipose tissue and a greater energy expenditure.
In addition, the body mass index tends to be lower and there is a lower accumulation of fat around the internal organs, compared to those conceived in warmer stations, suggests a study published in Nature Metabolism and headed by Japanese researchers.
The investigation was based on data from 683 individuals born in Japan between 3 and 78, and took into account if their parents had been exposed to cold temperatures (between October 17 and April 15) or warm (between April 16 and October 16) during the periods of fertilization and birth.
The study analyzed the density, activity and thermogenesis (the heat production process in the body in the face of metabolic reactions) of the brown adipose tissue, responsible for burning calories and producing body heat from fat.
The results indicate that weather conditions can influence human physiology and although eating habits and exercise are key indicators of fat lossexposure to cold and heat also influences.
At colder temperatures, the body generates more heat (cold -induced thermogenesis) through brown adipose tissue activity and stores less fat in the form of white adipose tissue than at warmer temperatures.
The investigation points out that the individuals conceived during the cold station showed a greater activity of the brown adipose tissue, which later It correlated with greater energy expenditure, an increase in thermogenesis, a lower accumulation of visceral fat and a lower body mass index in adulthood.
Thus, a key factor in determining the activity of brown adipose tissue in human offspring is a great daily variation of temperature and a lower ambient temperature during the period prior to conception.
The authors point out that we will have to continue working to determine the underlying mechanisms, the applicability in different populations and the impact of other dietary and environmental changes, including those that occur during childhood.