Recent studies have uncovered new links between obesity and race, showing that body fat distribution varies between different races.
We’ve all been told that America’s bulging waistline is increasing our risk for serious diseases like hypertension, stroke, diabetes and heart disease. But, what you may not know is that body fat distribution varies among individuals, thus varying individual susceptibility for developing heart disease.

“Fat that is located in the central part of the body, say in the trunk, is considered to place a person at greater risk for cardiovascular disease,” explains Dympna Gallagher, Director of the Body composition Unit at the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s Hospital.

In a study published in the recent issue of the American Journal of Nutrition, researchers studied fat that lies inside the body, within the body’s muscle, known as intramuscular fat. “We found that as people got older there appeared to be more of this fat within the muscle,” says Gallagher.

Using MRI, researchers were able to detail racial differences in body fat distribution among three ethnic races; African-Americans, Caucasians and Asians. The study found that among women and men who have larger amounts of body fat, African-Americans have more fat and adipose tissue located between the muscles than do Asians or Caucasians.

“Quantifying this new data about obesity and race may indeed have important implications for better understanding risk factors,” says Gallagher.

Researchers are also studying MRI images from the mid-thigh, looking at the association between the fat that’s in between the muscles and insulin resistance. They’re finding that the greater the amount of fat within the muscle, the greater the insulin resistance, suggesting a possible link between fat in the muscle and the development of diabetes.

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