Selected anthropometric measurements of Akwesasne Mohawk youth: skinfolds, circumferences, and breadths.

Nationally, Native American youth have been shown to be at risk for overweight, and an increased prevalence of obesity among Native American children has been consistently reported. We describe skinfolds, circumferences, and body breadths to assess body size and shape of Akwesasne Mohawk youth (n = 271) between the ages of 10.0 and 16.99. Akwesasne is a sovereign nation with territory in New York state and Canada. Sex- and age-specific comparisons were made to reference values published from the Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics and from the Third National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES III). Akwesasne youth have thicker skinfolds and larger circumferences than youth in the national surveys. Additionally, these cross-sectional data indicate that body fat is more centrally distributed in Akwesasne Mohawk boys and girls. Given the numerous studies emphasizing the importance of body fat distribution as a risk factor for chronic, obesity-related diseases prevalent within Native American communities, and the high level of fatness presented in this study, more concerted efforts need to be applied to help reduce the development of overweight in children from an early age.