The diabetes alert study: Growth, fatness, and fat patterning, adolescence through adulthood in Mexican Americans

Abstract

Diabetes Alert is a multidisciplinary genetic and epidemiological study of Type II (non insulin-dependent) diabetes in Texas Mexican Americans. We report the anthropometry of 1,155 individuals 10 to 70 or more years with particular reference to overweight, fatness, and anatomical fat patterning in the sample. Children ages 10-18 of both sexes are growing at the 50th percentile of the reference data (U.S. Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-1) for height, Wt/Ht2, and triceps and subscapular skinfolds. Adults are well below median height but well above median Wt/Ht2 and skinfolds. Prevalence of obesity (Wt/Ht2 greater than or equal to 30) among adults is typically 30% or higher by age 30. Diabetics compared to age/sex-matched non diabetics have shorter sitting heights, have more upper body fat (subscapular skinfold), have less lower body fat (lateral calf skinfold), and were heavier at maximum weight and at age 18. The ratio of lower to upper body fat distribution decreases over the life cycle, being highest at adolescence and lowest at ages 40-50 in both sexes. Our results show a precipitous weight gain after maturity in the sample and an association of diabetes with differences in anatomical fat patterning. The age-related changes in fat patterning need to be explained in terms of their ecological and genetic influences.

Lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels among Mexican-Americans in Starr County, Texas.

“…24 While there may be a tendency toward lower mean values, we note that the pattern of change by age and the relative differences between males and females are in the same direction and of approximately equal magnitude as those in the other reports. Discussion As has been described elsewhere, 9 the MexicanAmerican population of Starr County, Tex., has a high frequency of obesity. Among males and females, 26% and 30%, respectively, would be classified as obese based on an extremely conservative definition of a body mass index greater than 30 (BMI=weight in kilograms=the square of height in meters).…”

A Pilot Study of Type 2 Diabetes among Female Jamaican Maroons from a Genetic Isolate: Physical Characteristics and Prevalence

“…Apparent fat patterning among Maroon women in central adiposity parallels prior investigations [22][23][24]. Upper body adiposity is frequently associated with untoward complications of overweight and obesity, while lower body fat deposition (gluteal-femoral adiposity) is apparently protective from adverse effects of excess fatness [25].…”

Waist Circumference as the Best Predictor of Noninsulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) Compared to Body Mass Index, Waist/hip Ratio and Other Anthropometric Measurements in Mexican Americans—A 7‐Year Prospective Study

“…A large number of studies have investigated the effects of BMI, skinfolds, circumferences, and various indexes of body fat distribution on the development of NIDDM (2,4,5,8,10,11,13,16,19,20,21).…”

“…Previous studies have shown that body mass index (BMI) and waisthip circumference ratio (WHR) as well as other anthropometric measurements are predictive of NIDDM (2,4,5,8,10,11,13,16,19,20,2 1). However, few studies have analyzed the association between NIDDM and waist circumference, which has been reported to be more closely correlated with the level of abdominal visceral adipose tissue than the WHR (1, 3,6,7,9,18,22,24).…”