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Anthropometric Measurements in Australian Aborigines

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Handbook of Anthropometry

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Abstract

Aborigines have inhabited Australia for many thousands of years. They led a ‘hunter-gatherer’ lifestyle prior to European contact. They are known to have lower sitting-height to stature ratio with long legs, relatively short trunks and narrow across the torso and hips (a ‘linear’ body build). European expeditions in the early twentieth century confirm that overweight and obesity was rarely observed. In the second half of the twentieth century, the traditional lifestyle of Aborigines had transitioned to a westernised lifestyle. Associated with such a transition to western lifestyle is the epidemic of non-communicable chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and renal failure. Average weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) of Aborigines have increased over time. However, this increase is not uniform across Aboriginal Australia. There are major differences in the body habitus profile between different clan groups/communities. In spite of these variations, the pattern of preferential central obesity in both men and women is uniform in almost all the communities. This could have provided a survival advantage under conditions of traditional lifestyle (with its ‘feast-and-famine’ pattern of food intake) experienced by Aborigines prior to European contact. Our studies have shown that BMI significantly underestimated overweight and obesity when compared to other indices of body fat. Aborigines have preferential central fat deposition and exhibit consistently higher waist-hip ratios when compared to other Australians. Also, prevalences of overweight and obesity depend on the anthropometric definitions used. The relationship of surrogate estimates of body composition such as S4 for subcutaneous fat and height2/resistance for FFM (fat free mass) to body weight and BMI are significantly different between Aboriginal people and European Australians. Even at lower levels of body habitus profiles, Aborigines have increased risk for chronic conditions. Also, anthropometric characteristics differ substantially among different Aboriginal communities and stereotyping and generalisations should be avoided.

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Abbreviations

ABS:

Australian Bureau of Statistics

AHtR:

Abdominal- height ratio

ASMM:

Appendicular skeletal muscle mass

AusDiab:

Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle study

BIA:

Bioelectrical impedance analysis

BMD:

Bone mineral density

BMI:

Body mass index

CAT:

Computer assisted tomography

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

DxA:

Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry

FFM:

Fat free mass

FM:

Fat mass

IMT:

Carotid intima-media thickness

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

NT:

Northern territory

NZ:

New Zealand

SA:

South Africa

SFT:

Skinfold thickness

VAT:

Visceral adipose tissue

WA:

Western Australia

WHO:

World Health Organisation

WHR:

Waist-hip ratio

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan

  2. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, 213, 4029, Brisbane, Australia

    Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan

Authors
  1. Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan
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  2. Leonard S. Piers
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  3. Sidya Raghavan
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  4. Kerin O’Dea
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Nutrition & Dietetics, King's College, Stamford St. 150, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

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Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, S., Piers, L.S., Raghavan, S., O’Dea, K. (2012). Anthropometric Measurements in Australian Aborigines. In: Preedy, V. (eds) Handbook of Anthropometry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1788-1_161

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1788-1_161

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