Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental
Volume 58, Issue 9 , Pages 1329-1337, September 2009

Racial differences in body fat distribution among reproductive-aged women

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston TX 77555-0587, USA

Received 15 January 2009; accepted 27 April 2009. published online 08 June 2009.

Abstract 

We examined the influence of race/ethnicity on body fat distribution for a given body mass index (BMI) among reproductive-aged women. Body weight, height, and body fat distribution were measured with a digital scale, wall-mounted stadiometer, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, respectively, on 708 healthy black, white, and Hispanic women 16 to 33 years of age. Multiple linear regression was used to model the relationship between race/ethnicity and different body fat distribution variables after adjusting for BMI, age at menarche, and demographic and lifestyle variables. For a given BMI, white women had the highest total fat mass (FMtotal), trunk fat mass (FMtrunk), and leg fat mass (FMleg), whereas Hispanic women had the highest percentage of FMtrunk (%FMtrunk) and trunk-to-limb fat mass ratio (FMRtrunk-to-limb). Conversely, black women had the lowest FMtotal, FMtrunk, percentage body fat mass (%FM), %FMtrunk, and FMRtrunk-to-limb, and the highest percentage of FMleg. The %FM was similar in whites and Hispanics and lower in blacks. The race × BMI interactions were significant for almost all of the body fat distribution variables. Increasing in differences with increasing BMI were apparent between blacks and whites in FMtrunk, %FMtrunk, FMRtrunk-to-limb, %FMleg, and %FM, and between blacks and Hispanics in FMtrunk, %FMtrunk, FMRtrunk-to-limb, and FMleg. In summary, the distribution of body fat for a given BMI differs by race among reproductive-aged women. These findings raise questions regarding universally applied BMI-based guidelines for obesity and have implications for patient education regarding individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic complications.

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 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.

PII: S0026-0495(09)00152-8

doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2009.04.017

Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental
Volume 58, Issue 9 , Pages 1329-1337, September 2009