Relationship of upper body fat distribution to serum glucose and lipids in a Costa Rican population

Present models of the relation between subcutaneous fat distribution and serum biochemistries have been based largely on U.S. White populations. To determine interpopulational differences in that relation, we measured 68 clinically normal adult Costa Ricans aged 17–32. Data collected included six skinfolds: triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, umbilical, anterior midthigh, and medial calf; height, weight, and four fasting serum parameters: glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL). Correlations between standardized skinfold ratios and biochemistries were highest–on the order of 0.40–0.50–for upper‐lower body contrasts to triglyceride and cholesterol in males and to glucose and HDL in females. Canonical correlation analysis, with body mass index partialed out, found significant correlations for the first male variate and the first two female variates. The first male variate was positively weighted on subscapular fatness and on triglyceride and cholesterol, respectively. The two female skinfold variates were positively weighted on subscapular and on outer limbs, respectively, while their corresponding biochemical variates were weighted on glucose and triglyceride and on cholesterol and HDL, respectively. These findings are generally consistent with those based on U.S. populations but suggest that in non‐Anglo populations, upper trunk fatness may be more relevant than anterior waist fatness to biochemical dysfunction.