Neck circumference as a novel screening method for estimating fat distribution and metabolic complications in obese children

Neck Circumference as a Valuable Tool to Identify the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Mexican Children

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Neck circumference (NC) has been proposed as a simple measurement to identify patients with overweight and obesity. It has been found that adipose tissue at the cervical level is associated with the presence of metabolic alterations. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between NC and indicators of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) to subsequently estimate its capacity to identify the risk of MS compared to waist circumference (WC) and Body Mass Index (BMI).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 286 children 6-9 years old who attended six public primary schools in Jalisco, Mexico. Pearson's correlation coefficients along with sensitivity and specificity tests were performed to analyze the relationship between NC and MS indicators. Odds ratio (OR) and concordance analyses were performed considering the Kappa index.

RESULTS

NC showed statistically significant correlations with all MS indicators except for LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. The cut-off points of NC to identify MS according to sex was >27.4 cm for girls and >29.8 cm for boys. The association of NC with values above the cutoff point and the presence of MS was OR: 21.6 (CI: 7.11-65.74).

CONCLUSIONS

NC represents a simple and cost-effective alternative to identify children at risk of MS when compared to BMI and WC.

[Correlation of neck circumference with body mass index in preschool children]

OBJECTIVES

To study the correlation between neck circumference and body mass index and the value of neck circumference in identifying overweight and obesity in preschool children.

METHODS

The stratified cluster sampling method was used to recruit 3 719 children under 7 years from 10 kindergartens in Urumqi, China. General data were collected, and physical measurements were performed. A Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between neck circumference and body mass index. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the accuracy of neck circumference in identifying overweight/obesity. The Kappa consistency test was used to assess the consistency of neck circumference and body mass index in identifying overweight/obesity.

RESULTS

There was a positive correlation between neck circumference and body mass index in boys and girls of all ages (r≥0.50, P<0.001). According to body mass index as the criteria for overweight/obesity, the children were divided into an overweight/obesity group and a non-overweight/obesity group, and the analysis showed that the overweight/obesity group had a significantly larger neck circumference than the non-overweight/obesity group (P<0.001). The ROC curve analysis showed that neck circumference had an area under the ROC curve of >0.7 in identifying overweight/obesity for boys and girls. The Kappa consistency test showed that the neck circumference and body mass index had a Kappa value of >0.40 in identifying overweight/obesity in boys and girls of all ages.

CONCLUSIONS

Neck circumference is positively correlated to body mass index, and neck circumference can be used to identify overweight/obesity in preschool children.

Association among Neck Circumference and Percent Body Fat with Fasting Blood Glucose in Obese Female College Students

Background: Neck circumference could describe upper-body subcutaneous fat, correlated with obesity and diabetes mellitus.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between percent body fat and neck circumference with fasting blood glucose in obese female college students.Methods: The study was cross-sectional, conducted at Diponegoro University in June-August 2019. 119 participants were female, aged 17-21 years selected using the purposive sampling method. Measurement of waist circumference was used as an indicator of obesity. Percent body fat was measured using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), and neck circumference was measured using a met line. Fasting blood glucose was examined after the subject fasted for 8-12 hours, the amount of blood taken was 5 cc. Data were analyzed with the Rank-Spearman correlation test.Results: As many as 84% of subjects had excess percent body fat. The median neck circumference was 32.5 cm. The median fasting blood glucose was 87 mg / dL. There was a significant correlation between percent body fat with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.231) (p = 0.012). There was no correlation between neck circumference with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.137) (p = 0.137).Conclusion: Percent of body fat had a significant relationship with fasting blood glucose, and the greater the circumference of the neck, the greater fasting blood glucoseKeywords: Obesity, Neck Circumference, Percent Body Fat, Fasting Blood Glucose

Neck and Wrist Circumferences as Indicators of Metabolic Alterations in the Pediatric Population: A Scoping Review

Neck circumference (NC) and wrist circumference (WrC) have been proposed as practical and inexpensive tools with the capacity to indicate metabolic alterations to some extent. Nevertheless, their application in the pediatric population is relatively recent. Thus, the aim of this scoping review was to review and analyze the reported evidence regarding the correlation of NC and WrC with metabolic alterations in the pediatric stage. The literature search was performed in January 2021 in seven indexes and databases. A total of 26 articles published between 2011 and 2020 were included. Most significant results were grouped into three categories: serum lipid profile, glucose homeostasis, and blood pressure. The parameter that showed the most significant results regardless of the anthropometric indicator analyzed for association was blood pressure. In contrast, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol showed non-significant associations along with conflicting results. We conclude that the use of NC and WrC, in addition to other well-established indicators, could facilitate the identification of metabolic alterations, specifically in plasma insulin and blood pressure. In fact, further studies are required to address the potential use of NC and WrC as predictors of early metabolic alterations, especially in countries with a fast-growing prevalence in obesity.