Body characteristics for participants in the TARA study are shown in Table 1 . Subjects were 223 African Americans (Table 1 , 43.5% male), age 35 years (34.8 ± 7.7), range 20–50 years, BMI 30.0 ± 7.7, range 18.5–54.7 kg/m2. The BMI range of TARA participants was similar to that of the BetaGene subjects. Data from the TARA subjects have been previously reported (18 (link),19 (link)). Subjects were born in the United States and each subject reported that both parents were African-American. Oral glucose tolerance tests revealed previously unknown impaired glucose tolerance in 25% and diabetes in 2%. Twenty percent were hypertensive. Women were premenopausal; 41% of the females were obese. Recruitment was accomplished through flyers, newsletters, and websites. The institutional review board of National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) approved the study, and all subjects gave informed consent.
Hip circumference in all TARA participants was measured by a single observer (N.G.S.) over nonrestrictive underwear or light-weight shorts, at the level of the maximum extension of the buttocks posteriorly in a horizontal plane. The mean of the three determinations was recorded. Similar to the BetaGene study, whole-body composition measurements were performed with a Hologic QDR4500A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (Hologic) in the array mode using software version 5.71A.
Hip circumference in all TARA participants was measured by a single observer (N.G.S.) over nonrestrictive underwear or light-weight shorts, at the level of the maximum extension of the buttocks posteriorly in a horizontal plane. The mean of the three determinations was recorded. Similar to the BetaGene study, whole-body composition measurements were performed with a Hologic QDR4500A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (Hologic) in the array mode using software version 5.71A.
