Table 1.

Characteristic of white vs. brown adipose tissue.

White adipose tissue	Brown adipose tissue
White adipocytes contain single large lipid droplet, few mitochondria	Brown adipocytes contain multiple small lipid droplets, rich in mitochondria
Secretes adipose derived hormones, that regulate insulin sensitivity and satiety	Densely vascularized and innervated by sympathetic nerve endings
Stores excess energy as triglycerides, releases fatty acids during fasting periods	Expression of uncoupling protein 1
	Dissipates chemical energy (mainly from fatty acids) to generate heat