Anthropometric measurements of Guyanese adults of African and East Indian racial origins

ABSTRACT

Anthropometric measurements were made of Guyanese men and women aged 35-54 years of African and East Indian origin living in adjacent communities. Africans were taller with greater shoulder widths and slightly smaller hip widths than East Indians. Africans men had larger upper arm circumferences and smaller triceps skinfolds than East Indians, an indication of greater muscular development. The relative leg length and ratio of the lateral to the antero-posterior diameters of the thorax were similar in the two races. The difference in size was less between male and female Africans than between male and female East Indians. Obesity was common in women of both ethnic groups, a feature which often occurs in emerging countries and which may lead to an increase in the incidence of conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. (AU)