DISTRIBUTION OF ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES AND THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IN POPULATIONS OF WEST-AFRICAN ORIGIN - THE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE STUDY ON HYPERTENSION IN BLACKS (ICSHIB)

A survey of the prevalence of hypertension and associated risk factors including obesity was carried out among persons of West African herit age currently living in societies at different stages of social, econo mic and technological development, We present here the distribution of several anthropometric variables and the prevalence of obesity in the se populations, Using a standard protocol with centralized training of field staff, 7 439 men and women aged 24 to 75 from six multinational sites were recruited and examined. Although men were taller, women we re more obese across sites, Body mass index (BMI) and consequently the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased with westernization fr om rural African subsistence farming communities to suburb an Chicago, Average BMI increased with age until about age 54, and then began to decline or at least level off, The mean BMI for African American men a nd women was 27.1 kg/m(2) and 30.8 kg/m(2), respectively, Men displaye d high levels of centripetal fatness,measured as the waist-to-hip rati o (WHR), compared to the women across site, Based on the US Department of Agriculture guidelines, 22.6% and 56.9% of the African-American me n and women had elevated WHR. Although account must be taken of the im portant contribution of an individual's genetic background, this multi national study of persons with similar heritage clearly shows the pote nt impact of current environmental factors on the distribution and lev el of obesity.