Full Papers

Behaviour, Appetite and Obesity

Ethnic differences in body composition and anthropometric characteristics in Australian Caucasian and urban Indigenous children

Masaharu Kagawa^a1a2 c1, Nuala M. Byrne^a1a2, Neil A. King^a1a2, Sebely Pal^a3 and Andrew P. Hills^a1a2

^a1 ATN Centre for Metabolic Fitness, School of Human Movement Studies, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

^a2 Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

^a3 School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia

Abstract

The objective was to compare ethnic differences in anthropometry, including size, proportions and fat distribution, and body composition in a cohort of seventy Caucasian (forty-four boys, twenty-six girls) and seventy-four urban Indigenous (thirty-six boys, thirty-eight girls) children (aged 9–15 years). Anthropometric measures (stature, body mass, eight skinfolds, thirteen girths, six bone lengths and five bone breadths) and body composition assessment using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were conducted. Body composition variables including total body fat percentage and percentage abdominal fat were determined and together with anthropometric indices, including BMI (kg/m²), abdominal:height ratio (AHtR) and sum of skinfolds, ethnic differences were compared for each sex. After adjustment for age, Indigenous girls showed significantly (P < 0·05) greater trunk circumferences and proportion of overweight and obesity than their Caucasian counterparts. In addition, Indigenous children had a significantly greater proportion (P < 0·05) of trunk fat. The best model for total and android fat prediction included sum of skinfolds and age in both sexes (>93 % of variation). Ethnicity was only important in girls where abdominal circumference and AHtR were included and Indigenous girls showed significantly (P < 0·05) smaller total/android fat deposition than Caucasian girls at the given abdominal circumference or AHtR values. Differences in anthropometric and fat distribution patterns in Caucasian and Indigenous children may justify the need for more appropriate screening criteria for obesity in Australian children relevant to ethnic origin.

(Received July 21 2008)

(Revised February 11 2009)

(Accepted February 17 2009)

(Online publication April 02 2009)

Key Words:

• Children;
• Ethnicity;
• Body composition;
• Anthropometry

Correspondence:

^c1 Corresponding author: Dr Masaharu Kagawa, fax +61 7 3138 6030, email m.kagawa@qut.edu.au

Footnotes

Abbreviations: AHtR, abdominal:height ratio; DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; ISAK, International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry; ROI, region of interest; ΣSF, sum of eight skinfolds; ΣTrunkSF, sum of trunk skinfolds