FIRE UP YOUR OWN FAT-BURNER

Exercise stimulates helpful hormone

If you’re struggling for motivation to get out for your next run, remind yourself of a recent finding from the University of Florida, US. Researchers there have found that exercise triggers a surge of a hormone called irisin, which then launches a three-pronged attack on fat: it helps to turn your body’s calorie-storing white-fat cells into energy-hungry brown-fat cells; it increases the amount of energy used by those cells; and it suppresses the formation of fatty tissue. Earlier studies by the same scientists found that irisin also played a role in improving cardiovascular and bone health.