Neck circumference as marker of overweight and obesity among secondary adolescents aged 12-19 years in southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional survey
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Square
Abstract
Overweight and obesity have become more common among adolescents. Various indicators
have been used to assess this burden across populations. Recent findings elsewhere have found neck
circumference to be useful in defining overweight and obesity. However, the use of neck circumference as
marker of overweight and obesity needs to be further explored among adolescents in Uganda.
Objective: To assess the usefulness of neck circumference as a marker of overweight and obesity.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among secondary adolescents aged 12-19 years from
May to August in 2018, Height was measured using a wall mount height board and weight using a
standard weighing scale. Neck circumference was measured using an inelastic measuring tape. We
defined overweight as BMI =25.0-29.9kg/m2 while obesity as BMI ≥30.0kg/m2 among the study
participants. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between neck
circumference, height, weight and body mass index. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve
analysis was used to determine the suitable cutoff of neck circumference for overweight and obesity.
Results: We enrolled 616 adolescents aged 12-19 years, with mean age of 15.6±2.0 years. Most (65.6%)
were female. The overall prevalence of overweight was 30.5% while that of obesity was 3.4%. Neck
circumference was significantly correlated with height (r = 0.561, p<0.001), weight (r = 0.547, p<0.001)
and body mass index (r = 0.193, p<0.001). The best cutoff of neck circumference to identify participants
with obesity were ≥ 31.0 cm with AUC of 0.83 and ≥ 32.0cm with an AUC of 0.59 among the females
and males respectively.
Conclusion: Neck circumference was useful in defining and hence classifying for overweight or obesity
among the female adolescents in our study population. It could useful for screening for overweight and
obesity among the female adolescents.
Description
Keywords
Overweight, Obesity, Neck circumference, Body mass index, Adolescents
Citation
Katamba, G., Agaba, D. C., Muzaale, F., Namaganda, A., Namayanja, R., Musasizi, A., ... & Migisha, R. (2021). Neck circumference as marker of overweight and obesity among secondary adolescents aged 12-19 years in southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional survey. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-204357/v2