Anthropometric determinants of risk factors in an African American population

This study assessed the association of biological markers, including cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, ApoA-1, and ApoB, with estimates of the body composition, including the conicity index (CI), BMI, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). One hundred-twenty-six African American adults (43-males, 83-females) from a public housing community in the District of Columbia were recruited. Females were four times more likely to be obese than were males. Among the four anthropometric indicators, the WHR was the best method to explain the variances in biological markers, including cholesterol and ApoB levels in females. The CI showed relationships with log triglyceride levels in females, while percentage body fat (%BF) explained the variances of log HDL and log ApoA-1 in males. For cholesterol, log triglycerides and ApoB, mean values were positively associated with tertiles of the WHR, whereas mean values of log HDL and log ApoA-1 were negatively associated with tertiles of %BF. The WHR and CI, indicators of relative body fat distribution, are more related to risk factors for CVD and diabetes among females than is the BMI. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:249-258, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.