Body fat distribution: Associations with socioeconomic status in the Hispanic health and nutrition examination survey

Abstract

Three indices derived from principal components analysis of four skinfold measurements were studied in relation to socioeconomic status (SES; income and education) in men and women of the U.S. Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). The three indices were fatness (PC1), central body fat distribution (PC2), and “centralized obesity” (PC1 + PC2). The well‐known inverse relation of fatness (PC1) with SES was demonstrated in women. This relationship tended to be positive in men, but not consistently so within the three Hispanic groups (Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican‐Americans) studied. A negative association of central body fat distribution (PC2) was also evident in both sexes and in all three groups except in Puerto Rican men, in whom the relationship was no longer significant after age adjustments. The third index combined information on both fatness level and central distribution. It was strongly related to SES in women but not in men.