Each core provides unique expertise and facilities to investigators whose research is in the area of obesity, energy expenditure, or nutrition. The core laboratories provide expert consultation and resources in the areas of adipose tissue metabolism, transgenic animal models, epidemiology and statistics, and clinical and community research. The adminstrative core provides organizational support. The intent of the cores is to provide the opportunity for scientists to share their research interests and activities, to learn new methods in this area of research and, in turn, to attract other established or new investigators to the area of obesity research.