Ultrasound measurement in defining the regional distribution of subcutaneous fat tissue

The aim of this research is to determine the significance of ultrasound diagnostics in measuring the thickness of subcutaneous fat tissue as well as to point out sex and age differences in regional distribution of subcutaneous fat tissue. The research included 37 men and 33 women with different body mass indexes. Ultrasound measuring of subcutaneous fat tissue was conducted on 16 measuring points. The thickness of subcutaneous fat tissue measured by ultrasound and estimated proportion of fat tissue obtained by comparative methods coincided mostly on the back side of the upper arm, lower abdominal region in interspinal line and the front side of the forearm. Analysis of the subcutaneous fat tissue distribution indicates that there is more equal accumulation of fat tissue in women than in men. BMI limit value for obesity is not the same for men and women because the point at which abdominal region becomes the main storage of subcutaneous fat in body depends on sex. That BMI value represents the physiological beginning of obesity since it marks the change in distribution pattern of subcutaneous fat tissue in different body regions.