title: Racial differences in the sums of skinfolds and percentage of body fat estimated from impedance in black and white girls, 9 to 19 years of age: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study report assesses racial differences in fat patterning in black and white girls ages 9 to 19 years, comparing the sum of triceps and subscapular skinfolds (SSFs) and percentage of body fat (%BF) from impedance as two indices of adiposity. It is hypothesized that racial differences in fat patterning manifest during puberty.
  
  
  METHODS
  SSF and %BF were measured annually. Racial differences in SSF and %BF were evaluated by age. Associations between %BF and SSF were evaluated using the Pearson's correlations coefficient. Classification agreement was evaluated using the kappa-statistic. Effects of pubertal stage and race on classification agreement were examined using multivariate models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  White girls had a greater mean %BF at 9 to 12 years of age; black girls had a greater %BF thereafter. Black girls had a greater mean SSF at every age. The correlation coefficient between SSF and %BF was 0.79, and there was good agreement between %BF and SSF in separating high (>85th percentile) from not high (kappa = 0.60 for whites and 0.66 for blacks). SSF associated more with %BF in prepuberty and early puberty than in late puberty.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite good correlations between %BF and SSF, the two methods indicate different fat patterns in black and white girls.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA. morrj2@chmcc.org
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Obarzanek
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waclawiw
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000293:Adolescent / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D044383:Black People; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D011627:Puberty; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D044465:White People