Interrelationship Between Skinfold Thickness, Serum Lipids and Blood Sugar in Normal Men

Abstract

Serum lipids, serum sugar and skinfold thickness at several sites were measured in healthy male factory workers. Somatic index and relative weight were calculated. Serum triglyceride concentration, but not cholesterol concentration, showed a low grade but significant correlation with various measures of body fatness, including skinfold thickness at several sites. Skinfold thickness of the trunk was correlated with the amount of weight gained since age twenty-five, but forearm skinfold thickness showed no such correlation. Evidence was presented for the hypothesis that forearm skinfold thickness reflected innate lifelong obesity, while skinfold thickness of the trunk reflected, at least in part, obesity acquired during adult life. For men with slender forearms (measuring less than 4.0 mm. skinfold thickness), triglyceride concentration increased as abdominal skinfold thickness increased. For men with fat forearms (measuring more than 6.0 mm. skinfold thickness), there was no significant increase in triglyceride concentration with increasing abdominal skinfold thickness. Serum sugar was slightly but significantly correlated with triglyceride concentration. The hypothesis that hyperglyceridemia and impaired carbohydrate tolerance result from overloading existing adipose cells has been set forth.