Population change in adult obesity and blood lipids in American Samoa from 1976–1978 to 1990

Abstract

Obesity in American Samoan adults in 1990 was compared to that in 1976-1978 to evaluate population changes concomitant with modernization. Body weight, stature, the body mass index (BMI), and two skinfolds were measured in 1990 in 830 males and females 25-74 years old, and were compared to corresponding data from 1976 and 1978 for 1,621 adults. Mean BMI and skinfold thicknesses increased markedly from 1976-1978 to 1990 in males at all ages. Mean BMI for 45-54 year old males was approximately 3.6 kg/m higher (P < 0.0001) in 1990 than in 1976-1978, but was only 0.6 kg/m higher in females of the same age. The prevalence of overweight increased significantly from 66% in 1976-1978 to 85% in 1990 (P < 0.001) in 35-44 year old males, but remained about the same, 91%, in females of that age. Similar sex differences in temporal change were found in skinfolds. Fasting serum total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides were obtained for a random subsample of 67 males 40-49 years old and were compared to lipid levels in a 1978 sample of American Samoan males of similar age and residence. Both total and HDL cholesterol were significantly different between 1978 and 1990, 178 vs. 205 mg/dl (P < 0.02), and 43 vs. 37 mg/dl (P < 0.01), respectively. Triglycerides were higher in 1990 than in 1978, 169 vs. 128 mg/dl. The results suggest that obesity and adiposity increased more over 12-14 years among adult males than among females, who in 1976-1978 were already massively overweight. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Genetic and environmental correlations between various anthropometric and blood pressure traits among adult Samoans

“…Note that the genetic effects over general fatness are fairly strong, indicating that fat deposition is a heritable trait. Overweight and obese Samoans have been observed to have evenly distributed fat compared to other populations (Galanis et al, 1995;McGarvey, 1991b;McGarvey et al, 1993). Table 10 lists mean anthropometric measurements from our study and from published data on Mexican Americans (Comuzzie et al, 1993(Comuzzie et al, , 1996a.…”

Anger expression and lifestyle incongruity interactions on blood pressure in Samoan adults

“…This report is part of an ongoing study of behavioral, environmental, physiological, genetic, and psychosocial determinants of adiposity and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including BP, in the modernizing population of Samoa and American Samoa (McGarvey, 1991(McGarvey, , 2001McGarvey et al, 1993;Galanis et al, 1999). The study population for this report resides in the independent nation of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, a rapidly modernizing nation in Polynesia.…”

Genome-wide scan for adiposity-related phenotypes in adults from American Samoa

“…Recruitment in the US territory of American Samoa in 2002 was based on random selection of probands seen in the 1990-1994 cohort study in American Samoa, 13,15 and the presence of at least two adult siblings alive and residing in American Samoa. Participants in the 1990-1994 cohort (which was originally designed as a longitudinal study of blood pressure change over time) had to (1) not have a medical diagnosis of hypertension or type 2 diabetes (based on doctor's report or current use of medications for either) and (2) [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”