The data
(NHANES III) from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) show that
the black population has the highest proportion of overweight among all adult
populations in the United States. In parallel Wang et al (1996) compared the
body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent from dual-photon absorptiometry in
1,324 healthy adults recruited from four ethnic groups in the New York City
area; 523 whites, 280 blacks, 267 Asians and 254 Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans
had the largest BMI and the largest percent of subjects with body weight more
than 120% of their ideal weight, and the largest fat percent of the four ethnic
groups Asians had the smallest BMI, but 63% of them had fat percent above the
median values for whites in each gender. In blacks, the percent of subjects
with fat percent larger than the median for whites was slightly smaller than
that for Puerto Ricans, 64% and 82% of males and females respectively. However,
these results differ from the latest NCHS data and show that Puerto Ricans in
this sample are heavier and fatter than blacks, there is still an implication
that different BMI values should be used for different races. In other words,
Asians reach the body fat definition of obesity at a much lower BMI than
Caucasians, and this seems to be true for the other non-white races, to a
lesser extent. But for blacks, this result seems to contradict other published
reports. Kleerekoper et al (1994) suggested that blacks have less fat and more
muscle than whites at the same BMI, but Gallagher et al (1996) didn't find a
significant difference, after controlling for leg length taking into account
that blacks generally have longer legs than whites.
Articles / Researches / Marketing Tips / Stories for business and brands.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Definition of obesity across races.
The data
(NHANES III) from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) show that
the black population has the highest proportion of overweight among all adult
populations in the United States. In parallel Wang et al (1996) compared the
body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent from dual-photon absorptiometry in
1,324 healthy adults recruited from four ethnic groups in the New York City
area; 523 whites, 280 blacks, 267 Asians and 254 Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans
had the largest BMI and the largest percent of subjects with body weight more
than 120% of their ideal weight, and the largest fat percent of the four ethnic
groups Asians had the smallest BMI, but 63% of them had fat percent above the
median values for whites in each gender. In blacks, the percent of subjects
with fat percent larger than the median for whites was slightly smaller than
that for Puerto Ricans, 64% and 82% of males and females respectively. However,
these results differ from the latest NCHS data and show that Puerto Ricans in
this sample are heavier and fatter than blacks, there is still an implication
that different BMI values should be used for different races. In other words,
Asians reach the body fat definition of obesity at a much lower BMI than
Caucasians, and this seems to be true for the other non-white races, to a
lesser extent. But for blacks, this result seems to contradict other published
reports. Kleerekoper et al (1994) suggested that blacks have less fat and more
muscle than whites at the same BMI, but Gallagher et al (1996) didn't find a
significant difference, after controlling for leg length taking into account
that blacks generally have longer legs than whites.
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