US scientists develop weight loss ‘fat patch’ for ‘love handles’

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Let’s face it, most of us are wary about those stubborn love handles, or those pesky and unwanted fats on our waistline.

But fret not, as an innovative “fat patch” with the ability to burn off those excess fats has now undergone successful trials in the US.

According to The Telegraph, the patch provides metabolism-altering drugs encased in nanoparticles that have proven to shrink localized fat by 20 percent.

The skin patch enters the body through dozens of microscopic needles, which may be applied directly to the problematic areas, like the tricky flesh above the hips.

“The nanoparticles were designed to effectively hold the drug and then gradually collapse, releasing it into nearby tissue in a sustained way instead of spreading the drug throughout the body quickly,” the study’s co-author, Professor Zhen Gu of the University of North Carolina, was quoted as saying in the report.

Gu also explained that humans have two kinds oft fat—white fat, which stores excess energy and via  large triglyceride droplets, and brown fat, which provides smaller droplets that burn fat for heat.

Researchers have long tried to find ways to transform white fat into brown, and may have finally found the solution.

By testing the patch on mice, researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center in New York concluded that the patch certainly works and may soon be ready for human testing.

The subjects were given patches on one side of their body, which yielded a 20 percent fat loss on the treated side.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra