关键词: 生物人类学, 土家族, 统计学, 身体组成

Abstract:

Body composition refers to the percentage of body fat, protein, muscle, water, etc. in body weight. A reasonable ratio between these components is important to maintain normal body operations, and with ethnic differences in body composition, this topic is key in anthropological research. Our current research focuses on the relationship between body composition of Chinese adolescents and college students with other physical indicators; in particular there is a lack of comparative research on the Tujia nationality. In this paper, the bioelectrical impedance analysis method was used to compare body composition characteristics of Tujia adults in Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou in order to explore the effects of genetics, environment, diet etc. on body composition. A random sample of 959 (411 males, average age 53.7±14.2 years; 548 females, average age 51.0±13.6 years) was studied. Excel 2007 and SPSS 19.0 were used to conduct ANOVA, Person correlation and independent sample T test analyses. ANOVA results indicated that except for total muscle mass, estimated bone mass, right upper limb muscle mass, and trunk muscle mass, Tujia males from the three regions showed statistically significant (P<0.05) differences among various indicators. Among Tujia women from the three regions, except for body weight, estimated bone mass, total energy metabolism, right upper limb muscle mass, right lower limb muscle mass, and left lower limb fat rate there were statistically significant (P<0.05) differences. According to standardized body fat percentages it was noted that Hubei, Guizhou and Hunan Tujia adults are in the normal range, and that Hunan Tujia women carry their obesity around abdomen, and therefore are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases. This result is related to the high standard of living of the Hunan people. Among the three regions, muscle mass in Hubei adults were more developed, with adults in Hunan and Hubei and Guizhou women having a tendency for slightly higher muscle mass in the right limb compred to the left. Guizhou men had similar muscle mass in the lower limbs, and thus it was assumed that bone mass would be higher and bones stronger.

Key words: Biological anthropology, Tujia nationality, Statistics, Body composition