RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: How body composition, specifically skeletal muscle mass, compares in Mexican elderly to other ethnic groups has not previously been reported. We tested the hypothesis that older adults from Northwest Mexico (Mex) would have similar total appendicular skeletal muscle (TASM) compared with New York dwelling Caucasians (Cauc) and African-Americans (AA). METHODS: Two hundred and eighty nine Mex (135 males and 154 females), 166 AA (36 males and 130 females) and 229 Cauc (64 males and 165 females), aged 60-98 years were assessed. Total and regional fat and lean tissues were measured by whole-body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry where TASM is the sum of arm and leg bone-free and fat-free lean tissue. Differences in TASM were tested by ANCOVA, with age, height, and body mass index (BMI) as covariates. RESULTS: TASM adjusted for ethnicity, age, height and BMI, were 22.6 +/- 0.2 kg and 17.8 +/- 0.1 kg for males and females, respectively (p < 0.001). Among males with similar age, height, and BMI, Mex had less TASM compared with AA and Cauc (p < 0.001). Total body fat and truncal fat were higher (p < 0.001) and FFM lower (p < 0.001) in Mex compared to both AA and Cauc males after adjusting for age and BMI. Among females, Mex had higher total and truncal fat (p < 0.001) after adjusting for age and BMI, and significantly lower TASM (p < 0.001) after adjusting for age, height, and BMI compared to AA and Cauc females. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly Mex have a different body composition compared with AA and Cauc of a similar BMI and age. Mex have significantly less TASM with greater total and truncal fat. In the long-term, Mex elderly may be at greater risk for sarcopenic obesity compared to other ethnic groups.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

This study aimed to compare the resting energy expenditure (REE) of white and non-white severely obese Brazilian women. REE was examined in 83 severely obese Brazilian women (n = 58 white and 25 non-white) with mean (+/- SD) age 42.99 +/- 11.35 and body mass index 46.88 +/- 6.22 kg/m(2) who were candidates for gastric bypass surgery. Body composition was assessed by air displacement plethysmography (ADP) BOD PODO body composition system (Life Measurement Instruments, Concord, CA) and REE was measured, under established protocol, with an open-circuit calorimeter (Deltatrac II MBM-200, Datex-Ohmeda, Madison, WI, USA). There was no significant difference between the REE of white and non-white severely obese women (1,953 +/- 273 and 1,906 +/- 271 kcal/d, respectively; p = 0.48). However, when adjusted for fat free mass (MLG), REE was significantly higher in nonwhite severely obese women (difference between groups of 158.4 kcal, p < 0.01). REE in white women was positively and significantly correlated to C-reactive protein (PCR) (r = 0.418; P < 0.001) and MLG (r = 0.771; P < 0.001). In the non-white women, REE was only significantly correlated to MLG (r = 0.753; P < 0.001). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that skin color, MLG and PCR were the significant determinants of REE (R(2) = 0.55). This study showed that, after adjustment for MLG, non-white severely obese women have a higher REE than the white ones. The association of body composition inflammation factors and REE in severely obese Brazilian women remains to be further investigated.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Muscle mass decreases with age, leading to "sarcopenia," or low relative muscle mass, in elderly people. Sarcopenia is believed to be associated with metabolic, physiologic, and functional impairments and disability. Methods of estimating the prevalence of sarcopenia and its associated risks in elderly populations are lacking. Data from a population-based survey of 883 elderly Hispanic and non-Hispanic white men and women living in New Mexico (the New Mexico Elder Health Survey, 1993-1995) were analyzed to develop a method for estimating the prevalence of sarcopenia. An anthropometric equation for predicting appendicular skeletal muscle mass was developed from a random subsample (n = 199) of participants and was extended to the total sample. Sarcopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass (kg)/height2 (m2) being less than two standard deviations below the mean of a young reference group. Prevalences increased from 13-24% in persons under 70 years of age to >50% in persons over 80 years of age, and were slightly greater in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic whites. Sarcopenia was significantly associated with self-reported physical disability in both men and women, independent of ethnicity, age, morbidity, obesity, income, and health behaviors. This study provides some of the first estimates of the extent of the public health problem posed by sarcopenia.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that in a healthy pediatric population body mass index (BMI) (kilograms per meter square) is a valid measure of fatness that is independent of age for both sexes. METHODS: Total body fat (TBF) (in kilograms) and percent of body weight as fat (PBF) were estimated by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 198 healthy Italian children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years of age. We developed multiple regression analysis models with TBF and percent body fat as dependent variables and BMI, age, and interaction terms as independent variables. Separate analyses were conducted for boys and girls. RESULTS: BMI was strongly associated with TBF (R2 = 0.85 and 0.89 for boys and girls, respectively) and PBF (R2 =0.63 and 0.69 for boys and girls, respectively). Confidence limits on BMI-fatness association were wide, with individuals of similar BMI showing large differences in TBF and in PBF. Age was a significant covariate in all regression models. Addition of nonlinear terms for BMI did not substantially increase the R2 for TBF and PBF models in boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Our results support the use of BMI as a fatness measure in groups of children and adolescents, although interpretation should be cautious when comparing BMI across groups that differ in age or when predicting a specific individual's TBF or PBF.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

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.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Two hundred children 7 to 14 years of age with isolated cleft defects of the lip, palate, or both were surveyed for stature. Twelve percent were less than the third percentile in height and were designated "short." All of the short children received an endocrine evaluation. Endogenous growth hormone was examined after two days' pretreatment with stilbesteral. Four of the 25 short children with CLP had total, and four had partial, GH deficiency. Three of the GH-deficient patients were also deficient in ACTH or TSH. In contrast, in a series of 75 short (less than third percentile) children 7 to 14 years of age without cleft defect or other apparent congenital abnormality, only two had total and two had partial GH deficiency. The data suggest that children with isolated CLP have short stature about four times more often, and GH-deficiency about 40 times more often, than children without CLP. The increased prevalence of GH-deficiency may stem from the embryologic relation of adenohypophysis and oral ectoderm.

Asunto(s)