Table 1 Fat mass and adipose tissue distribution
From: Chronic stress, epigenetics, and adipose tissue metabolism in the obese state
| Reference | Gender | Age | Race | BMI | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [22] | Both | 8–19 |
Mexican American Non-Hispanic black Non-Hispanic white |
Boysa: 21.8 ± 0.14 Girls: 22.1 ± 0.15 |
Overall prevalence of adiposity is positively associated with BMI in children and adolescents Prevalence of high BMI (≥ 95 percentile of BMI-for-age) and high adiposity (≥ 80th percentile of percentage body fat) are higher in Mexican–American than non-Hispanics boys, whereas high BMI has higher prevalence in non-Hispanic black girls Prevalence of high adiposity in all BMI groups are lowest in non-Hispanic black boys and girls Body fat (%) is lower in non-Hispanic blacks than Mexican-Americans, but BMI is lower in non-Hispanic black boys while higher in girls than Mexican–American counterparts |
| [23] | Both | ≥ 20 |
Hispanic Mexican American Non-Hispanic black Non-Hispanic white | ≥ 25 |
No overall difference in the prevalence of obesity between males and females Non-Hispanic black women have the highest prevalence of obesity than women in other ethnic groups Prevalence of severe obesity (BMI > 35) is higher in non-Hispanic blacks than whites in both sexes Whites have relatively higher fat mass than blacks at a fixed BMI |
| [25] | Both | 53.5 ± 13.9 | Caucasian descent | 27.8 ± 4.9 |
In both males and females, those without metabolic syndrome have lower BMI, body fat (%), waist circumferences, waist to hip ratios, fasting plasma insulin and glucose levels, plasma triglyceride and uric acid levels, as well as systolic blood pressure together with higher HDL than those with metabolic syndrome Body fat (%) is positively correlated with age, BMI, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio, while negatively correlated with height Overall body fat (%) is higher in overweight/obese females than males, whereas waist circumference is higher in age-matched males |
| [26] | Both | ≥ 8 |
Mexican American Non-Hispanic black Non-Hispanic white | All rangesb |
Females have higher absolute and relative fat mass than males at all ages Trunk and extremity fat (%) are lower in males than females at all ages in all ethnic groups, and lower in adolescence then increased in adulthood in males whereas both increased to 79 years of age in females Extremity fat (%) reduction is lower and increase is higher in males in the ≤ 50 th percentile than > 50 th percentile from all ethnic groups, whereas for trunk fat (%), this is only in Mexican-Americans Trunk and extremity fats (%) have higher increase in females in the ≤ 50 th percentile than > 50 th percentile from all ethnic groups |
| [27] | Both | 30–65 |
Aboriginal Chinese European South Asian (living in Canada) | ≥ 18.5 |
Body fat (%) is higher in Aboriginals and South Asians than Europeans vWAT and sWAT are lower in Europeans than in Chinese and South Asians |
| [28] | Both | Middle agedc | N/A | Not specifiedc |
Females have greater amount and more active BAT than males BAT activity is greater in young than older adults and in people with lower BMI and fasting glucose levels |
| [29] | Both |
Male: 35.8 ± 9.0 Female: 38.8 ± 8.8 | N/A |
Male: 23.8 ± 2.6 Female: 21.1 ± 2.3 |
Under cold exposure, younger subjects have higher BAT activity than older ones, and BAT activity is mainly found in supraclavicular and paraspinal regions BAT activity is inversely related to BMI, vWAT and total fat mass |
| [30] | Both | 39.2 ± 8.1 | N/A | 42.1 ± 3.8 | Obese individuals have reduced cold-induced thermogenesis and BAT activity |
| [31] | Male |
Lean: 22.5 ± 4.9 Obese: 28.8 ± 4.7 | N/A |
Lean: 23.2 ± 1.9 Obese: 34.8 ± 3.3 |
Obese males have less BAT activity than lean males, but more potential to achieve BAT expansion upon cold exposure BAT is highly concentrated in cervical, supraclavicular, axillary, mediastinal, paraspinal, and abdominal regions |