Body build, serum cholesterol and percentages of body fat in some male Nigerians. A contribution to the establishment of norms

Abstract

Heights and weights were measured and Quetelet's indices calculated for 402 subjects among whom were university students, local soldiers and outpatients of a rural hospital. Serum cholesterol and percentages of body fat as calculated from the sum of four skinfold thicknesses were also determined. Heights, and weights and Quetelet's indices of these mostly Northern Nigerian subjects fit a generally slim body build comparable to that of lean populations of other parts of the world. The subjects have generally low mean serum cholesterol levels of 152.1 mg% in the students, 189.9 mg% in soldiers and 188.4 mg% in outpatients. Mean percentage body fat values are also generally low ranging from 12.6% in soldiers through 12.4% in students to 11.2% in outpatients. The rather low serum cholesterol values obtained here along with the generally low values of percentage body fat suggest that our subjects may have a low risk of development coronary diseases in later years.