Cycles of body fat in hibernators

This paper reviews data on seasonal changes in body fat of mammalian hibernators. It then presents data on the fat cell number and size in the retroperitoneal and gonadal fat depots of dormice, Glis glis, over the course of their body weight cycles. Enlargement of fat cell size is the principal way that hibernators get fat. The hibernator cycle may provide a way of discovering whether regulation of fat level is achieved through regulation of total mass of fat or through regulation of the size of existing adipocytes.