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Anthropometric characteristics and body composition of Ainu and other Japanese: Comparison with other racial groups
Author(s) -
PicónReátegui E.,
Buskirk E. R.,
Doi K.,
Kuroshima A.,
Hiroshige T.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330500314
Subject(s) - anthropometry , demography , sexual dimorphism , chin , trunk , foot (prosody) , population , subcutaneous fat , geography , medicine , anatomy , biology , zoology , endocrinology , adipose tissue , archaeology , art , sociology , ecology , literature
The Ainu of Hokkaido are metrically a population of short to medium stature. Compared to a diversity of other samples (Hindus, Japanese, Chinese, Canadian Eskimos and U. S. whites) Ainus tend to have a large surface area of the head and feet. The Ainu head tends to be large both in vertex‐chin dimensions and in coronal measurement, and the subcutaneous layer tends to be thick at both the cheek and chin. Ainus especially resemble Eskimos in their combination of a large head and small thighs. The percentage of body fat was estimated from deuterium oxide space in Ainu men and women. These percentages were closely comparable to those in other young adult samples in several ethnic groups, including a greater percentage of fat in Ainu females than in males. Although the body weight/height ratio and percentages of body fat in young Ainu adults indicate a satisfactory balance of caloric nutriture, their short stature suggests that their nutriture during gestation and childhood may be inadequate. Ainu adults show a relatively small sexual dimorphism of body weight.