Obesity is figuratively and literally a disease of enormous proportions.
Our knowledge of the behavioral ecology of this animal allows us to ask questions about the adaptive significance of the energetic responses we are measuring. This philosophy has resulted in a recent research initiative to study the environmental and physiological basis for food hoarding in Siberian hamsters. Collectively, our research efforts should prove useful in understanding the neural and hormonal control of energy balance and their consequences for understanding conditions of energy imbalance such as obesity. Mauer, M. M. and Bartness, T. J. Photoperiod-dependent fat pad mass and cellularity changes following partial lipectomy in Siberian hamsters. The effects of anterior hypothalamic lesions on short day responses in Siberian hamsters given timed infusions of melatonin.