Title of article:
Comparisons for body mass index and body fat percent among Puerto Ricans, blacks, whites and Asians living in New York City area
Authors: Wang J, Thornton JC, Burastero S, Shen J, Tanenbaum
S, Heymsfield SB, Pierson RN.
Journal: Obes Res, Jul 1996;4(4):377-84
Abstract
The latest data (NHANES III) from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) show that the black population has the highest proportion of overweight among all adult populations in the United States. The present study compared the body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent from dual-photon absorptiometry in 1,324 healthy adults aged 18 to 107 years recruited from four ethnic groups in the New York City area; 523 whites, 280 blacks, 267 Asians and 254 Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans had the largest BMI and the largest percent of subjects with body weight more than 120% of their ideal weight, and the largest fat percent of the four ethnic groups: 76% of Puerto Rican males had fat percent above the median value for white males (fat percent = 19.6%) and 95% of Puerto Rican females had fat percent above the median for white females (fat percent = 30.8%). Asians had the smallest BMI, but 63% of them had fat percent above the median values for whites in each gender. Puerto Ricans also had the largest waist-to-hip ratios among the four ethnic groups. In blacks, the percent of subjects with fat percent larger than the median for whites was slightly smaller than that for Puerto Ricans, 64% and 82% of males and females respectively. These results differ from the latest NCHS data and show that Puerto Ricans in this sample are heavier and fatter than blacks.
Comments and Key points
Here's the most basic data from that article, which I found helpful.
| Gender | Ethnicity | Mean BMI | Body Fat % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | White |
25.2
|
19.6%
|
| Black |
26.3
|
22.0%
|
|
| Asian |
23.3
|
21.3%
|
|
| Puerto Rican |
27.4
|
24.8%
|
|
| Female | White |
23.3
|
30.8%
|
| Black |
28.5
|
38.2%
|
|
| Asian |
22.0
|
31.9%
|
|
| Puerto Rican |
29.4
|
40.2%
|
Each race/ethinic group has a different ratio of body fat to body mass index.
Here's how I interpreted these values, to compare races to each other. I used the Deurenberg formula relating body mass index to body fat percent, and calculated the BMI necessary to reach a body fat percentage of 25% for men and 33% for women.
The estimated BMI levels which would yield these body fat percentage thresholds were:
| Gender | Ethnicity | estimated BMI |
Body Fat % threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | White |
29.7
|
25.0%
|
| Black |
28.8
|
25.0%
|
|
| Asian |
26.4
|
25.0%
|
|
| Puerto Rican |
27.6
|
25.0%
|
|
| Female | White |
25.1
|
33.0%
|
| Black |
24.2
|
33.0%
|
|
| Asian |
22.9
|
33.0%
|
|
| Puerto Rican |
23.4
|
33.0%
|
In other words, Asians reach the body fat definition of obesity at a much lower BMI than Caucasians, and this seems to be true for the other non-white races, to a lesser extent.
But for blacks, this result seems to contradict other published reports. Kleerekoper et al suggested that blacks have less fat and more muscle1 than whites at the same BMI, but Gallagher et al didn't find a significant difference2, after controlling for leg length ( blacks generally having longer legs than whites).
References
- Kleerekoper M, Nelson DA, Peterson EL, et al. Body composition and gonadal steriods in older white and black women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1994; 79:775-779.
- Gallagher D, Visser M, Sepulveda D et al. How useful is BMI for comparison of body fatness across age, sex and ethnic groups. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143:228-239.
Review & comments by Steven B. Halls, MD, Last edited:
23-June, 2008, Copyright.
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