Subcutaneous Fat Distribution of the Abdomen and Buttocks in Japanese Women Aged 20 to 58 Years

Abstract

Subcutaneous fat is an essential element in shaping the body of human beings. In this research, skinfold thickness was measured specifically in 33 regions of the human body, including the abdomen and buttocks. Based on our measurements, the subcutaneous fat distribution was assessed for several age groups. The subjects were healthy Japanese women aged 20 to 58 years. Skinfold thickness was measured using the B-mode ultrasound methods, together with anthropometric measurement. A comparison was made between the following five age groups: early 20's, late 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. The measured values for the early 20's group were used as the standard and the relationship between increase ratio of subcutaneous fat and age was studied. Through our research, we obtained data on the subcutaneous fat distribution in each age group. The largest change was observed between the ages of the early 20's and late 20's. The skinfold thickness measurements of the abdomen and buttocks was consistently around 10 mm for the early 20's, and increased up to 23.8 mm on the rear side section for the late 20's. This result indicates that the increase ratio varied depending on the part of body. Furthermore, the changes in skinfold thickness were different in specific parts of the abdomen and buttocks among different age groups. The difference in skinfold thickness between upper and lower sections of the abdomen also becomes more pronounced with age. Skinfold thickness increased significantly between the early 20's and late 20's. Among the body regions, measurements at the rear side showed the largest change with age; averaging 11.3 mm for the early 20's compared to 33.6 mm for the 50's. The subcutaneous fat distribution on the buttock also showed the differences with age, indicating changes in body shape. Using careful measurements of the abdomen and buttocks, subcutaneous fat distribution among each age group was determined as well as the variation in changes with the aging process.