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A new discovery may explain winter weight gain

We may have a new reason to cherish some sunshine alongside the vitamin D generation. A new study has shown that the fat cells that lie just under our skin shrink when exposed to the blue light emitted by the sun.

“When the blue wavelengths of the sun – the light we can see with our eye – penetrate our skin and reach the fat cells just below, the lipid droplets decrease in size and come out of the cell. In other words, our cells don't store that much fat,” said the study's senior author.

“If you flip our findings around, the inadequate exposure to sunlight promotes fat storage and contributes to the typical weight gain some of us have in the winter,” he added.

The researcher cautions that the finding is only a preliminary observation and that pursuing sunlight exposure is not a safe or recommended way to lose weight.