Holding an ice-pack to your tummy or thighs for half an hour may help you burn extra calories and lose that hard-to-shift fat, says a new study.
Researchers found that the application of a cold compress can turn white fat into ‘beige’ fat. White fat is the flabby stuff that is hard to get rid of, but beige fat burns away to generate heat (it behaves similarly to ‘brown’ fat).
Researchers took thigh fat tissue samples from 16 people after they held an ice pack on the skin for 30 minutes then checked for specific genetic markers that showed which kind of fat was present.
They found elevated levels of three genetic markers tied to beige or brown fat.
The research was published in the journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. It follows previous studies which have suggested you can ‘shiver yourself slim’ by turning the heating down a few degrees. Experts claim that as a result of us spending most of our time in climate-controlled environments, our bodies do not burn as many calories to keep warm.
