Lactose absorption was studied in 570 healthy adolescent and adult males in Egypt. Employing a field version of the noninvasive hydrogen breath test, 156 (27.4%) lactose absorbers and 414 (72.6%) lactose malabsorbers were identified. The age-specific prevalence of the lactase phenotypes indicated that lactase repression is complete at the age of 14 yr in Egyptians. The regional distribution showed significant differences between the Nile Delta and the northern and southern part of Upper Egypt. The existence of a north-south gradient of decreasing frequencies of the hypolactasia gene from the Nile Delta to the Sudan is suggested.