The distribution of body fat and metabolic disorders in the indigenous people of the north of Siberia

Fat deposition patterns and incidence of the main components of the metabolic syndrome have been studied in the indigenous population of Northern Siberia in the Krasnoyarsk region. The incidence of excessive body weight, insulin resistance (by the levels of insulin and C-peptide), dyslipidemia (HDLP hypocholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterolemia), disorders of carbohydrate metabolism, and arterial hypertension (AH) were evaluated in the Evenk population (596 subjects, 89.9%) of the population of the Evenk Autonomous Territory). The reference group consisted of 306 newcomers to this region (69.9% of newcomers to the region). Northern residents aged over 18 years were examined in winter. The examinations of 166 aborigines included measurements of fat folds on the arms, back, and abdomen. The anthropometric parameters of fat deposition were compared in indigenous Northerners and in non-aborigines (792 subjects). The thickness of the subcutaneous fat is less in indigenous men and women than in the newcomers, and fat distribution is more even. The thickness of subcutaneous fat in indigenous Northerners was closely related to body weight index. Development of obesity manifested by even thickening of subcutaneous fatty layer. The incidence of hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, carbohydrate metabolism disorders, and AH was lower in the indigenous population than in the newcomers. The incidence of insulin resistance and metabolic disorders in the Evenks with excessive body weight was the same as in subjects with normal body weight, but the incidence of AH was higher in obese Evenks. The incidence of AH in obese Evenks and newcomers was the same, while insulin resistance was 8.6 times rarer among obese aborigines. In indigenous Northerners obesity consists mainly in increase of the subcutaneous but not visceral fat, and therefore involves a lesser number of metabolic disorders.

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