Question

how does brown fat turn food into heat?

Answer 1

Brown fat turn food into heat in the following way:

1. ATP is produced in the mitochondria through a process called chemiosmosis.
2. The proton motive force ( the electrochemical) is used by the ATP synthase to produce ATP
3. Brown fat contains a large number of mitochondria
4. In brown fat, on the inner aspect of the mitochondria is present a protein called uncoupling protein 1.
5. This protein reduces the proton motive force.
6. As a result, ATP is not produced
7. On the contrary, this energy is released in the form of heat.