Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify the difference in fat thickness distribution between Japanese women in their twenties and these in their forties. The subjects consisted of 15 young women (average age 23.2 years) and 15 middle-aged women (average age 45.3 years). The fat thickness of the subjects at 30 different points on the body were measured with a B-mode ultrasonic device. As a reference, anthropometric measurements were investigated using the martin method. The fat thickness data obtained were analyzed by using two different multiple statistical analyses, that is a principal component analysis and a distinction analysis. As a result of the principal component analysis, the first component was interpreted as a size factor which explained the amount of total body fat, second and third components were two shape factors, which explained contrast between the amount of fat at the trunk and the at the lower extremity, and that at the upper extremity and at the lower extremity, respectively. The middle-aged group had a larger first component score and smaller second component score, which means that the middle-aged group had thicker fat as a whole, but less fat in the lower extremities, such as the buttocks and medial thigh compared to the trunk. This tendency of fat distribution in the middle-aged group was also supported by the results of the anthropometric measurement. It was found by using the distinction analysis method that the umbilicus and the loin were the most useful measuring points for characterizing the differences in fat thickness distribution between the two age groups.
