€ndocrinology of Adipose Tissue

In the United States, using current husbandry practices, excess adipose tissue is accumulated in the three major meat-producing mammalian species-cattle, sheep, and swine. Much of this adipose tissue is essentially waste for the meat industry and of little economic value [ 2 ] . Although adipose tissue has many metabolic sequences in common with other tissues, e.g., carbohydrate and protein metabolism, its main function is to synthesize and store fat during periods of caloric excess, to provide energy through mobilization of fatty acids during periods of caloric deprivation, and to insulate the vital core of the animal from the environment. I t should be emphasized at the outset that the current concept of adipose tissue is of a highly active tissue in a state of continued metabolic flux in contrast to the older view of a static tissue acting solely as an energy sink.