Racial differences in abdominal depot-specific adiposity in white and African American adults.
BACKGROUND
There is increasing interest in understanding racial differences in adiposity in specific body depots as a way to explain differential health risks associated with obesity.


OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to examine the differences in abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) between white and African American adults.


METHODS
The sample included 1967 adults aged 18-84 y, including 790 white women, 435 African American women, 606 white men, and 136 African American men. Total body fat was measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, whereas abdominal VAT and SAT cross-sectional areas (L4-L5 level) were measured by using computed tomography. Sex-specific differences in SAT and VAT between racial groups were analyzed by the use of general linear models, which controlled for age and total body fat. Additional models tested for racial differences in VAT and SAT and controlled for age, total body fat, smoking, and menopausal status. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05.


RESULTS
Abdominal VAT was significantly higher in white than in African American men and women, even after adjustment for covariates. White women had significantly lower SAT than did African American women, both before and after adjustment for covariates. White men had significantly higher SAT than did African American men, but after adjustment for covariates, their SAT was lower than that of African American men.


CONCLUSIONS
Abdominal visceral adiposity is significantly greater in white men and women. After adjustment for covariates, white men and women had significantly lower SAT than did African American men and women. The results of this study highlight the heterogeneity of human body fat distribution across racial groups.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00959270.
Katzmarzyk
Peter T
PT
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4124, USA. peter.katzmarzyk@pbrc.edu
Bray
George A
GA
Greenway
Frank L
FL
Johnson
William D
WD
Newton
Robert L
RL
Ravussin
Eric
E
Ryan
Donna H
DH
Smith
Steven R
SR
Bouchard
Claude
C
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000235:genetics*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American