We aimed to assess the prevalence of N363S and BclI in obese and non-obese Caucasian (n=26) and African (n=23) Mississippians (age: 23-63 years) to investigate associations with body composition (body mass index/BMI, waist-to-hip ratio), metabolic parameters (salivary cortisol, fasting glucose and insulin, hemoglobin A1C, fructosamine, HOMA-IR index), and psychological stress perception (blood pressure/BP, perceived stress scale/PSS).