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Biomedical subjects

Jack Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Jack Wang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Body fat redistribution after weight gain in women with anorexia nervosa.

BACKGROUND: Body image distortions are a core feature of anorexia nervosa (AN). Increasing evidence suggests that the fat distribution immediately after weight restoration in patients with AN differs from the distribution typical of healthy adult women. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess body fat distribution before and shortly after normalization of weight in women with AN. DESIGN: Body composition and fat distribution were assessed by anthropometry, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and whole-body magnetic resonance imaging in 29 women with AN before and after weight normalization and at a single time point in 15 female control subjects. Hormone concentrations were also evaluated in patients and control subjects. RESULTS: During approximately 10.1 +/- 2.9 wk (range: 4-17.3 wk) of treatment, patients with AN gained 12.2 +/- 3.6 kg, and refed weight (54.1 +/- 4.2 kg) did not differ significantly from that of control subjects (54.7 +/- 4.4 kg). Waist-to-hip circumference ratio (P < 0.006), total trunk fat (P < 0.003), visceral adipose tissue (P < 0.006), and intramuscular adipose tissue (P < 0.003) were significantly greater in the weight-recovered patients than in the control subjects. In contrast, after refeeding, total subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle mass did not differ significantly between the patients and control subjects. In patients with AN, serum cortisol decreased and serum estradiol increased significantly with refeeding but not to control concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: In women with AN, normalization of weight in the short term is associated with an abnormal distribution of body fat. The implications of these findings for the long-term psychological and physical health of women with AN are unknown.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Sex differences in the associations of HIV disease characteristics and body composition in antiretroviral-naive persons.

BACKGROUND: Data on associations of body composition with HIV disease characteristics are limited. OBJECTIVE: We compared sex-specific associations between HIV disease characteristics and body composition in an racially-ethnically diverse cohort of antiretroviral-naive patients. DESIGN: The study was a cross-sectional analysis of participants enrolled in a metabolic substudy of a multicenter trial. Regional fat was measured, and total body fat (TBF) was derived by using the Durnin-Womersley formula (DWF) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Body cell mass (BCM) was measured by BIA. RESULTS: Among 422 participants, 22% were women, 60% were African American, and 36% had prior AIDS-defining illnesses. Mean (+/-SD) age was 38.2 +/- 9.6 y, CD4+ count was 215 +/- 184 cells/mm3, and HIV RNA log10 was 5.0 +/- 0.8 copies/mL. On multivariate analysis, women with AIDS-defining illness had significantly (P < 0.005) lower regional body fat and TBF (BIA: -9.5 kg; DWF: -7.3 kg) but nonsignificantly lower BCM (-1.3 kg) than did women without such illnesses, whereas men with AIDS-defining illness had significantly (P < 0.005) lower BCM (-1.7 kg) but nonsignificantly lower TBF (BIA: -1.3 kg; DWF: -1.83 kg) than did men without such illnesses (P < 0.05 for sex differences in TBF). Significant negative associations of HIV RNA with BCM (-0.9 kg/log RNA; P = 0.03), TBF by BIA (-1.4 kg/log RNA; P = 0.05) and by DWF (-1.6 kg/log RNA; P = 0.01), and regional fat were observed in men only. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of prior AIDS illness on body fat differed significantly between the sexes: women with prior AIDS-defining illness had significantly less fat than did women without such illnesses. An independent effect of HIV viremia on BCM and fat was seen in men. These distinctions may be due to inherent biological differences between the sexes.

Adipose Tissue↗

Four commonly used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanners do not identically classify subjects for osteopenia or osteoporosis by T-score in four bone regions BIz11.5.

We investigated whether four commonly used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanners (DPX, DPX-L,and Prodigy by GE Lunar, and Delphi-A by Hologic) could classify identical subjects as osteopenic or osteoporotic using the T-score for bone mineral density in four regions of interest: PA spine (L1-L4), femur (total), forearm (total),and 33% radius in 77 adults (38 females) free of treatment for bone metabolic disease (age range 20-81 yr). There were no significant differences between T-score means for posterior-anterior spine by DPX, DPX-L, and Prodigy, but they were higher than the mean T-score by Delphi-A (p < 0.05). Prodigy gave the lowest and DPX and Delphi-A gave the highest T-score for 33% radius (p < 0.05). No subject was classified as osteoporotic in the femur region by the four scanners, although other classifications varied by region and scanner. No two scanners classified subjects identically for osteopenia in any of the four regions. These results indicate that classification of bone density in individual subjects using T-scores varies by different DXA scanners, even the scanners were made by the same manufacturer.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Reproducibility of pediatric whole body bone and body composition measures by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry using the GE Lunar Prodigy.

The use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in pediatrics is increasing. It is safe, readily available, and easily performed, but there is little information on reproducibility. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reproducibility of whole body DXA scans in children. Total and regional bone mineral density, bone mineral content, nonbone, lean fat mass, and percent fat were measured twice by whole body DXA (GE Lunar Prodigy) in 49 subjects (5 to 17 yr). Within each subject, between subjects, and reading standard deviations for each body component were evaluated as well as intraclass correlations (IC) and coefficients of variation (CV). Total body measurements had better IC and CV than regional results from the whole body scan, with legs and arms better than trunk and spine. IC values were >or=0.989 for total body, >or=0.976 for legs and arms, and >or=0.875 for trunk and spine. CV values ranged 0.18 to 1.97% for total body, and 0.96 to 6.91% for regional measures. These values confirm that body composition and bone mass by DXA are highly reproducible among pediatric subjects. The results of this study can be used by clinicians and researchers for interpretation of longitudinal observations and for power calculations.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry lean soft tissue hydration: independent contributions of intra- and extracellular water.

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) provides a measure of lean soft tissue (LST). LST hydration, often assumed to be constant, is relevant to several aspects of DEXA body composition estimates. The aims of this study were to develop a theoretical model of LST total body water (TBW) content and to examine hydration effects with empirically derived model coefficients and then to experimentally test the model's prediction that, in healthy adults, LST hydration is not constant but varies as a function of extra- and intracellular water distribution (E/I). The initial phase involved TBW/LST model development and application with empirically derived model coefficients. Model predictions were then tested in a cross-sectional study of 215 healthy adults. LST was measured by DEXA, extracellular water (ECW) by NaBr dilution, intracellular water (ICW) by whole body (40)K counting, and TBW by (2)H(2)O dilution. TBW estimates, calculated as ECW + ICW, were highly correlated with (r = 0.97, SEE = 2.1 kg, P < 0.001) and showed no significant bias compared with TBW measured by (2)H(2)O. Model-predicted TBW/LST was almost identical to experimentally derived values (means +/- SD) in the total group (0.767 vs. 0.764 +/- 0.028). LST hydration was significantly correlated with E/I (total group, r = 0.30, SEE = 0.027, P < 0.001). Although E/I increased with age (men, r = 0.48; women, r = 0.37; both P < 0.001), the association between TBW/LST and age was nonsignificant. Hydration of the DEXA-derived LST compartment is thus not constant but varies predictably with ECW and ICW distribution. This observation has implications for the accuracy of body fat measurements by DEXA and the use of TBW as a means of checking DEXA system calibration.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Height and adiposity among children.

OBJECTIVE: Although BMI (kilograms per meter squared) is widely used as a surrogate measure of adiposity, it is moderately associated (r approximately 0.3) with height among children. We examined whether the resulting preferential classification of taller children as overweight, based on a BMI > or = 95th percentile, is appropriate. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We assessed the cross-sectional relation of height among 5- to 18-year-old subjects (n = 1180) to levels of BMI, the sum of 10 skinfold thicknesses, and percentage body fat as determined by DXA. RESULTS: The prevalence of a BMI level > or = 95th percentile was substantially higher among 5- to 11-year-old subjects who were relatively tall for their age than among shorter children. Among 5- to 8-year-old boys, for example, each SD increase in height-for-age was associated with a 4.6-fold increase in the prevalence of overweight (p < 0.001). Height not only was associated with BMI but also showed similar correlations with the skinfold sum and with percentage body fat; furthermore, the magnitudes of these associations decreased with age. We also found that the association between percentage body fat and BMI (r = 0.85 to 0.90) was close to the maximum correlation that can be achieved by any weight-height index. DISCUSSION: The use of BMI, which preferentially classifies taller young children as overweight, is appropriate because height and adiposity are correlated before the age of 12 years.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Validation of an elliptical anthropometric model to estimate visceral compartment area.

OBJECTIVE: The visceral compartment is a surrogate for visceral adipose tissue. Cross-sectional visceral compartment area (VCA) has been approximated from waist circumference using a circular model. However, the two-dimensional shape of the abdomen is rarely circular. This study validated an elliptical model of cross-sectional total abdominal area (TAA), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area, and VCA at the L(4)-L(5) level. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We analyzed magnetic resonance images (MRIs) at the level of the L(4)-L(5) intervertebral space from 35 subjects with a wide range of abdominal adiposity. Waist circumference, abdominal thickness (midline sagittal diameter), abdominal width (coronal diameter at one-half of abdominal thickness), and abdominal SAT thickness at four sites (front, back, right, and left) were measured from MRI images using an image analysis software. The same anatomical regions were also estimated from anthropometrics purely by geometric formulae of circular and elliptical models. A simple linear regression model was used to interpret the association strength between anthropometric estimates and MRI measures. RESULTS: Estimated TAA by either model was strongly related to MRI TAA (r(2) = 0.98, p < 0.0001). The SAT and VCA by MRI analysis showed a stronger association with calculation from an elliptical model (r(2) = 0.95 and 0.88, respectively; p < 0.001) than a circular model (r(2) = 0.69 and 0.25, respectively; p < 0.001). The absolute prediction residuals and variances were significantly smaller with an elliptical model than a circular model (p < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: An elliptical anthropometric model might be superior to a circular model to estimate abdominal SAT and VCA.

Abdomen↗

Sex-specific fat distribution is not linear across pubertal groups in a multiethnic study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate sexual dimorphism and race differences in fat distribution (android/gynoid) before and during puberty. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Fat distribution was measured by skinfold thickness and DXA in healthy African-American, Asian, and white subjects (n = 920), divided into pre-, early, and late pubertal groups. RESULTS: Gynoid fat masses adjusted for covariates were lower in late pubertal compared with prepubertal boys, but were not consistently greater in late pubertal compared with prepubertal girls. Progression of sex-specific fat distribution with increasing maturation was present in Asians only. Among African-American and white subjects, early pubertal boys had greater gynoid fat mass compared with the prepubertal group, whereas early pubertal girls had less gynoid fat mass compared with the prepubertal group. Sexual dimorphism in fat distribution was present in all pubertal groups, except among whites at early puberty. Among girls, Asians had lower gynoid fat than whites and African Americans in all pubertal groups. Among boys, Asians had less gynoid fat by DXA in early puberty and late puberty. DISCUSSION: Comparison among races demonstrated differences in sexual dimorphism and sex-specific fat distribution with progression in pubertal group. However, in all race groups, the fat distribution of late pubertal boys was more "male" or "android" than prepubertal boys, but late pubertal girls did not differ consistently from prepubertal girls. These findings suggested that the greater sexual dimorphism of fat distribution in late puberty compared with prepuberty may be attributable to larger changes in boys with smaller changes in girls.

Adipose Tissue↗

Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-measured lean soft tissue mass: differing relation to body cell mass across the adult life span.

Lean soft tissue (LST) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is used as a metabolic measure in aging research despite evidence of extracellular fluid expansion and a corresponding reduction in body cell mass (BCM) in older participants. We investigated the hypothesis that the fraction of LST as BCM is smaller with greater age. Men and women (n = 2043) had DEXA and 40K-counting for body potassium and BCM measured on the same day. Both BCM and LST were lower with greater age but the relative lowering was larger for BCM. A multiple linear regression model was fitted with BCM/LST as the dependent variable, and age, sex, and interaction terms as independent variables. Men had a mean BCM/LST greater (p < .001) than women; quadratic and cubic age terms were also significant or approached significance. Thus, the fraction of LST as BCM is smaller in older adults, a finding that has implications for the interpretation of DEXA results.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Pencil-beam vs fan-beam dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry comparisons across four systems: body composition and bone mineral.

We compared bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage (%fat) between two pencil-beam (Lunar DPX and DPX-L) and two fan-beam (Lunar Prodigy, Hologic Delphi A) dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) systems. We examined these values in the total-body, spine, femur, and forearm scans in 78 healthy adults across these four DXA systems. BMD and %fat values were highly correlated among the four instruments. DPX-L gave the lowest mean %fat and Prodigy gave the highest mean %fat for both sexes. The means were system dependent for %fat estimates across the four DXA machines. There was a significant difference detected in BMD estimates across manufacturers, with the Delphi A providing systematically lower values than the Lunar systems in the whole body, spine, and femur sites but higher values than the Lunar systems in the forearm. The present study results show that both %fat and bone mineral estimates between pencil-beam and fan-beam systems are highly correlated, but vary by system. Significant differences exist between the instruments, especially between different manufacturers, and most of the comparisons are sex dependent. We conclude that longitudinal studies should always be evaluated on the same system when possible, and translation models should be used to assess cross-instrument differences.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Measurement of percentage of body fat in 411 children and adolescents: a comparison of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry with a four-compartment model.

OBJECTIVE: Pediatricians are encountering body composition information more frequently, with percentage of body fat (%BF) measurement receiving particular attention as a result of the obesity epidemic. One confounding issue is that different methods may yield different %BF results in the same person. The objective of this study was to compare dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) with the criterion 4-compartment model (4-CM) for measurement of %BF in a large pediatric cohort and to assist pediatricians in appropriate interpretation of body composition information by recognizing differences between techniques. METHODS: Height, weight, anthropometrics, body density by underwater weighing, total body water by deuterium dilution, and bone mineral content and %BF by DXA (Lunar DPX/DPX-L) were measured in 411 healthy subjects, aged 6 to 18 years. Values for %BF by 4-CM and DXA were compared using regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean +/- standard deviation values for %BF by DXA (22.73% +/- 11.23%) and by 4-CM (21.72% +/- 9.42%) were different, but there was a strong relationship between the 2 methods (R2 = 0.85). DXA underestimated %BF in subjects with lower %BF and overestimated it in those with higher %BF. The relationship between the 2 methods was not affected by gender, age, ethnicity, pubertal stage, height, weight, or body mass index. The standard error of the estimate was 3.66%. CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrates a predictable relationship between DXA and 4-CM for %BF measurement. Because of its ease of use, consistent relationship with 4-CM, and availability, we propose that DXA has the capacity for clinical application including prediction of metabolic abnormalities associated with excess %BF in pediatrics.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Prediction models for evaluation of total-body bone mass with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry among children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The performance of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in identifying children with decreased bone mass is increasing, but there is no consensus regarding how to interpret the results. The World Health Organization diagnostic categories for normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis, based on T scores, are not applicable to children and adolescents who have not yet reached peak bone mass. The pediatric reference standards provided by DXA manufacturers have been questioned. Bone mineral density determined with DXA is "areal" density (a 2-dimensional measurement of a 3-dimensional structure), and its misleading nature among growing and maturing children is well recognized. Few published pediatric reference values for bone mineral density measured with DXA include factors that are known to affect the results besides age and gender. Our objective was to develop an algorithm for the evaluation of bone mass among children that included known determinants of bone mass and of its measurement with DXA. METHODS: Height, weight, pubertal status, and total-body bone mineral content, total-body bone area, and total-body bone mineral density measured with DXA were recorded for an ethnically diverse group of healthy pediatric subjects (n = 1218; age: 6-18 years). Prediction models for bone measurements were developed and validated with healthy pediatric subjects and then applied to children with medical disorders. RESULTS: There was a significant gender effect, as well as an interaction between gender and ethnicity. Separate models were developed for log total-body bone mineral content, log total-body bone area, and 1/total-body bone mineral density for girls and boys. The variability explained for each measurement increased from level 1, including age and ethnicity (76-86%), to level 2, including age, ethnicity, height, and weight (84-97%), and to level 3, including age, ethnicity, height, weight, and bone area (89-99%). Pubertal stage was an additional significant predictor of bone measurements but increased the explained variability by only 0.1% with height and weight in the models. The values predicted with each model were not different from measured values for the validation group but were different for patients with medical disorders, with different patterns according to the diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: These models, including known determinants of bone mass and of bone measurements with DXA, provide an evaluation of pediatric bone mass that proceeds in steps from level 1 to level 3. The outcomes were different for patients at risk for compromised bone mass, compared with healthy children, with specific patterns for each medical disorder. We propose an algorithm for evaluation of bone measurements that follows levels 1 to 3. Our findings suggest that application of this algorithm to well-characterized groups of pediatric patients could identify disease-specific features of DXA results. We recommend this approach as a basis for consensus regarding the clinical evaluation of pediatric bone mass, and we suggest that it could lead to meaningful classification of pediatric bone disorders, investigation of pathophysiologic processes, and development of appropriate interventions.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Body cell mass: model development and validation at the cellular level of body composition.

Existing models to estimate the metabolically active body cell mass (BCM) component in vivo remain incompletely developed. The classic Moore model is based on an assumed BCM potassium content of 120 mmol/kg. Our objectives were to develop an improved total body potassium (TBK)-independent BCM prediction model on the basis of an earlier model (Cohn SH, Vaswani AN, Yasumura S, Yuen K, and Ellis KJ. J Lab Clin Med 105: 305-311, 1985), to apply this improved model in subjects to explore the sex and age dependence of the TBK/BCM ratio, to develop a new TBK/BCM model on the basis of physiological associations between TBK and total body water (TBW) at the cellular level of body composition, and to fit this new model with available reference data. Subjects were 112 healthy adults who had the following components measured: TBW by 2H2O or 3H2O, extracellular water by NaBr, total body nitrogen by in vivo neutron activation, bone mineral by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and TBK by whole body counting. Human reference data were collected from earlier published reports. The improved Cohn model-derived TBK/BCM ratio was (mean +/- SD) 109.0 +/- 10.9 mmol/kg and was not significantly related to sex and age. A simplified version of the new TBK-TBW model provided a TBK/BCM ratio almost identical (109.1 mmol/kg) to that derived by the improved Cohn model. The TBK-BCM prediction formula derived from the improved and new models [BCM (kg) = 1/109 x TBK (mmol); or BCM = 0.0092 x TBK] gives BCM estimates approximately 11% higher than the classic Moore model (BCM = 0.0083 x TBK) formulated on rough tissue composition estimates. The present analyses provide a physiologically based, improved, and validated TBK-BCM prediction formula that should prove useful in body composition and metabolism research.

Adult↗

Factors influencing body composition in persons with spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study.

To determine the body composition differences across age, 133 men with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) (66 with tetraplegia, 67 with paraplegia) were compared with an age-, height-, and ethnicity-matched able-bodied male reference population (n = 100) using two different dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry densitometers. The effects of duration of injury, level, and completeness of lesion were analyzed in the SCI population. Independent of age, total body and regional lean mass were lower and fat mass was higher in persons with SCI compared with controls. The SCI group was 13 +/- 1% (means +/- SE) fatter per unit of body mass index (kg/m2) compared with the control group (P < 0.0001). Advancing age was strongly associated with less lean mass and greater adiposity in those with SCI, whereas it was mildly related in the controls. Total body and regional arm and trunk, but not leg, lean tissues were lower in subjects with SCI, across all ages, than in the controls. In summary, persons with SCI were fatter for any body mass index and demonstrated significantly less lean and more adipose tissues for any given age compared with controls.

Adipose Tissue↗

Body composition assessment in extreme obesity and after massive weight loss induced by gastric bypass surgery.

Body composition methods were examined in 20 women [body mass index (BMI) 48.7 +/- 8.8 kg/m(2)] before and after weight loss [-44.8 +/- 14.6 (SD) kg] after gastric bypass (GBP) surgery. The reference method, a three-compartment (3C) model using body density by air displacement plethysmography and total body water (TBW) by H(2)18O dilution (3C-H(2)18O), showed a decrease in percent body fat (%BF) from 51.4 to 34.6%. Fat-free mass hydration was significantly higher than the reference value (0.738) in extreme obesity (0.756; P < 0.001) but not after weight reduction (0.747; P = 0.16). %BF by H(2)18O dilution and air displacement plethysmography differed significantly from %BF by 3C-H(2)18O in extreme obesity (P < 0.05) and 3C models using (2)H(2)O or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to determine TBW improved mean %BF estimates over most other methods at both time points. BIA results varied with the equation used, but BIA better predicted %BF than did BMI at both time points. All methods except BIA using the Segal equation were comparable to the reference method for determining changes over time. A simple 3C model utilizing air displacement plethysmography and BIA is useful for clinical evaluation in this population.

Adipose Tissue↗

Endogenous association of TRAF2, TRAF3, cIAP1, and Smac with lymphotoxin beta receptor reveals a novel mechanism of apoptosis.

Lymphotoxin-beta receptor (LT beta R) is a member of tumor necrosis factor receptor family and plays essential roles in the embryonic development and organization of secondary lymphoid tissues. It binds two types of tumor necrosis factor family cytokines, heterotrimer LT alpha 1 beta 2 and homotrimer LIGHT, and activates multiple signaling pathways including transcriptional factor NF kappa B, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and cell death. However, the molecular mechanism of the activation of these signaling pathways by LT beta R is not clear. Because there is no enzymatic activity associated with the receptor itself, the signal transduction of LT beta R is mediated by cytoplasmic proteins recruited to receptors. To identify these proteins, we took a proteomic approach. The endogenous LIGHT.LT beta R complex was affinity-purified from U937 cells, and proteins associated with the complex were identified by mass spectrometry. Four of five proteins identified, TRAF2, TRAF3, cIAP1, and Smac, are reported here. Their association with LT beta R was further confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation in U937 cells and HEK293 cells. The presence of cIAP1 and Smac in LIGHT.LT beta R complex revealed a novel mechanism of LIGHT.LT beta R-induced apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

Detection of segmental internal fat by bioelectrical impedance analysis in a biological phantom.

OBJECTIVE: Quantification of internal adipose tissue such as visceral adipose tissue currently relies on expensive, cross-sectional imaging modalities. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that surface impedance, determined by bioimpedance analysis, might be used to predict regional internal fat content change in a phantom model. METHODS: Fresh hollowed-out cucumbers were used as cylindrical biological phantoms to test this hypothesis. After removal of the seeds, the cucumbers were filled with normal saline, mixture of saline and corn oil, or porcine adipose tissue bathed in saline. Surface resistance and reactance were measured with a bioimpedance analyzer accurate to 0.1 Omega (Quantum 10X, RJL Systems), and impedance was calculated. A linear regression model was used to interpret the association between composition and impedance. RESULTS: Surface impedance varied linearly with changes in the relative internal corn oil portions (r- = 0.98). A similar relation was noted with porcine adipose tissue bathed in saline (r(2) = 0.95) regardless of the specific position of adipose tissue within the cucumber. CONCLUSION: Surface impedance measured by bioimpedance analysis can detect variations in fat content in the interior of a cylindrical phantom.

Adipose Tissue↗

Is percentage body fat differentially related to body mass index in Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and European Americans?

BACKGROUND: Limited research has been done to explore differences between ethnic groups, including Hispanic Americans (HAs), in the association between percentage body fat (PBF) and body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)); the numbers of HAs are increasing in the US population. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the relation between PBF and BMI in adult HAs differed from that of African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs). DESIGN: We used a multiple regression model in which PBF measured with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was predicted by the reciprocal of BMI (1/BMI; in m(2)/kg) in a sample of 487 men (n(EA) = 192, n(AA) = 148, and n(HA) = 147) and 933 women (n(EA) = 448, n(AA) = 304, and n(HA) = 181). RESULTS: For men, our results showed no significant differences between HAs and EAs, AAs and EAs, or HAs and AAs in the slope of the line relating 1/BMI to PBF. In women, there were significant differences in PBF as predicted by BMI between HAs and EAs (P < 0.002) and AAs and HAs (P = 0.020), but not between AAs and EAs. When PBF was estimated on the basis of predicting equations, the trend of the predicted PBF value in women differed according to ethnic group and BMI category. At a BMI < 30, HAs tended to have more body fat than did EAs and AAs, and at a BMI > 35, EAs tended to have more body fat than did the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the relation between PBF and BMI in HA women differs from that of EA and AA women.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗