Background:A central pattern of fat distribution in postmenopausal women is regarded as a contributor to the increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.Both ethnicity and occurrence of menopause appear to influence regional fat distribution.However the influence of ethnicity has been under-investigated.Objective:The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that centralized fat distribution is influenced by ethnic origin.Furthermore,we hypothesize that the menopause-related changes in central adiposity in Caucasian,African-American and Asian women occur at different rates.Method:Total and regional body fat ratios were measured by whole body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DXA)in a cross-sectional study using a general linear regression model.After adjustment for age,weight,height,and total body fat,the android and gynoid fat compartments,and the ratio of trunk/leg fat,were analyzed.Results:Four hundred and forty-four women(227 Caucasian(Ca),128 African-American(AA)and 89 Asian(As))aged 18-94 y were recruited.Race was significantly(P<0.0001)related to the dependent variables:android and gynoid fat,and ratio of trunk/leg adiposity,in all subjects,adjusted by age,weight,height and total body fat.The interaction of race*menopause was also found to be significant(P=0.028).In each group,regional and total body fat levels,and especially android adiposity,were higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women.Interestingly,the postmenopausal difference in android fat in Ca was found significant(P<0.05),whereas such differences had no impact in AA and As subjects(NS).Conclusions:The differences in fat mass and its distribution were racially dependent.The impact of menopause was only significant in Ca group. Background: A central pattern of fat distribution in postmenopausal women is considered as a contributor to the increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Brother ethnicity and occurrence of menopause appear to influence regional fat distribution. However the influence of ethnicity has been under-investigated. Objective : The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that centralized fat distribution is influenced by ethnic origin. More than, we hypothesize that the menopause-related changes in central adiposity in Caucasian, African-American and Asian women occur at different rates. Method: Total and regional body fat ratios were measured by whole body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a cross-sectional study using a general linear regression model. After adjustment for age, weight, height, and total body fat, the android and gynoid fat compartments, and the ratio of trunk / leg fat, were analyzed. Results: Four hundred and forty-four women (227 Caucasian (Ca), 128 African- American d 89 Asian (As)) aged 18-94 y were recruited. Rheace was significantly (P <0.0001) related to the dependent variables: android and gynoid fat, and ratio of trunk / leg adiposity, in all subjects, adjusted by age, weight, height and total body fat. The interaction of race * menopause was also found to be significant (P = 0.028) .In each group, regional and total body fat levels, and especially android adiposity, were higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women .Interestingly, the postmenopausal difference in android fat in Ca was found significant (P <0.05), where such differences had no impact in AA and As subjects (NS). Conclusions: The differences in fat mass and its distribution were racially dependent. impact of menopause was only significant in Ca group.