Body size, body composition, and fat distribution: a comparison of young New Zealand men of European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian ethnicities.

Aims: To investigate body size and body fat relationships and fat distribution in young healthy men drawn from New Zealand European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian populations.

Method: A total of 114 healthy men (64 European, 31 Pacific Island, 19 Asian Indian) aged 17-30 years underwent measurements of height, weight, and body composition by total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Body mass index (BMI) was then calculated.

Central obesity and risk for type 2 diabetes in Maori, Pacific, and European young men in New Zealand.

New Zealanders of Polynesian origin have a higher prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus than those of European origin. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus--decreased energy expenditure, increased body fat mass, and central body fat--in 30 normoglycemic Maori, Pacific, and European men were studied. Biochemical measures of risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus included an oral glucose tolerance test, insulin, lipids, and glycosylated hemoglobin.