RÉSUMÉ
BACKGROUND: Indirect measures of body composition suggest that Hispanic women have an excess prevalence of overweight and obesity compared with white women. Socioeconomic status (SES) is a potentially confounding factor in such studies. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether Hispanic ethnicity is associated with higher total and regional adiposity and lower fat-free mass (FFM) in healthy women across the adult age range. DESIGN: We used a prospective cross-sectional design to examine total and regional body composition in 54 Hispanic women (primarily of Mexican descent) and 56 white women of similar SES. RESULTS: The groups were not significantly different in mean age, body mass, or SES, although the Hispanic women were shorter (P<0.05). Body mass index (in kg/m(2); 25.2+/-0.5 compared with 23.9+/-0.5; P<0.05), percentage body fat (38.4+/-0.8% compared with 34.9+/-1.3%; P<0.05), and total fat mass (25.0+/-1.0 compared with 23.0+/-1.2 kg; P = 0.10) were or tended to be higher in the Hispanic women. The greater total adiposity of the Hispanic women was primarily the result of higher percentage fat and fat mass in the trunk (P<0.05); within the trunk region, abdominal and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were 30-40% greater in the Hispanic women (P<0.01). Total FFM was slightly but significantly lower in the Hispanic women (38.9+/-0.6 compared with 40.9+/-0.6 kg; P = 0.01), primarily because of a smaller FFM in the trunk region (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Among healthy women, Hispanic (Mexican American) ethnicity may be associated with modestly higher levels of adiposity and slightly lower amounts of FFM overall and in the trunk region in particular.