Taxonomic identification of human fat patterns

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Abstract
The utility of taxonomic approaches in identification of fat patterning was evaluated using hierarchial cluster analysis on a sample of 64 female and 31 male subjects from 18 to 29 years of age. Four clusters, each composed of subjects with similar distributions of 17 skinfold thicknesses corrected for sex, size and total body fat, showed mean pattern profiles that variously contrasted fatness of the trunk and extremities. Average anthropometric differences between clusters corroborated differences in pattern profile. For comparison, principal‐components analysis was carried out on these same data. The results suggest that a taxonomic approach offers advantages in initial interpretation and in design flexibility.

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