The cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that visceral adipose tissue, the component of fat considered to be most strongly related to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, differed in Black and white subjects. Specifically, the investigators proposed that Black subjects had less visceral adipose tissue for a given level of total body fat than white subjects. Further, the relationship between visceral adipose tissue and risk factors for CHD was similar in all subjects. This would explain the different relationship between obesity and CHD risk factors seen in Black vs white subjects. A second specific aim was to determine whether Black women had a lower resting energy expenditure than Black men or whites. This could explain the higher prevalence of obesity in Black women than in Black men or whites of either gender. CT scans were recorded on tape and shipped to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where visceral adipose tissue was quantified. Dietary intake and physical activity were measured as important covariates in the relationship between metabolic rate and adiposity, and thyroid function was measured as a determinant of resting energy expenditure. The CARDIA study provided funding for cardiovascular risk factor measurements, including blood pressure, lipids, insulin, glucose, smoking, and anthropometric measurements including dual energy absorptiometry (DEXA) measurements of total and regional body fat.