Neck Circumference as an Indicator of Obesity and its Comparison with Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in Coastal Karnataka

Background: Neck circumference can be a simple screening tool for measurement of overweight and obesity. The present study aims to depict neck circumference as a valid measurement of obesity and tries to find out its correlation with BMI and waist circumference among young adults in the age group of 20-30 years.

Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 coastal villages of Udupi taluk, Udupi district, Karnataka, among 750 subjects. A pre-tested, semi structured questionnaire was administered to the study subjects after obtaining their consent. The questionnaire comprised of details on socio-demographic variables and anthropometric measurements.

Results: The study showed a strong positive correlation (r) between weight (0.7), waist circumference (0.7) and hip circumference (0.7) with neck circumference among the males, it showed a correlation of (0.6) for all the parameters like weight, waist circumference and hip circumference among the females. ROC analysis showed that the cut off for males at 36.25 cm has a sensitivity of 80% and specificity 77% and the area under the curve is 0.84. Whereas the cutoff for females was found to be 31.75 cm having the sensitivity of 69% and specificity 77% and the area under curve was 0.73.

Conclusion: Neck circumference (NC) measurement is simple and time saving screening measure that can be used to identify overweight and obesity. Patients with NC >36.25 cm cm for men and >31.75 cm for women require additional evaluation of overweight/obesity.