EC Nutrition

Introduction: The literature lacks sufficient examples exploring the influence of ethnicity and sex on body composition.

Objective: This study compares a healthy Cuban male population with young American, Mexican, and Austrian male populations concerning bone mass, body composition, and nutritional characteristics.

Materials and Methods: A cohort of 663 healthy Cuban men aged 20 to 60 years was surveyed in the City of Havana and select municipalities in the province of Pinar del Rio between 1998 and 2009. Ancestry classification included categories of European descent, mixed European-African descent, and African descent. Genotyping of Vitamin D receptor (VDR) alleles was conducted, amplifying the region associated with the vitamin D gene polymorphism from 100 ng of DNA. Lunar DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) was used for bone density analysis at various sites, and comparative measurements included bone mineral concentration, lean mass, fat tissue, and adiposity ratios. Cross-calibration transformation to HOLOGIC equivalent values was performed, and the NHANES III non-Hispanic young man dataset was used for comparison.

Results: Indices of fat and muscle mass relative to height squared within the 10^th to 85^th percentiles align closely with the NHANES population normality reference (2009). Muscle mass index similarities exist up to 34.9 years among Europeans and mixed European-African Cuban men compared to Caucasians and African Americans in NHANES, with Afro-Cubans and Mexican men displaying slightly lower values.

Conclusion: This article comprehensively describes and compares bone mass, muscularity, and adiposity in young Caribbean males with “self-described” Caucasians, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. The findings provide valuable insights into the precision of characterizing young men's body composition through indicators such as ancestral origin determination, vitamin D receptor genotype, and DEXA-Lunar densitometry.

 Keywords: Ethnicity; Body Composition; Bone Mass; Nutritional Characteristics; Ancestry Classification; Vitamin D Receptor Genotype; Muscle Mass Index; Fat Mass Index; NHANES III; DEXA-Lunar Densitometry