Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years

ABSTRACT Neck circumference (NC) indicates nutritional status and indirectly measures upper body subcutaneous fat, an independent predictor of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aims to analyze the accuracy of NC as a measure to assess excess body weight in children aged from two to nine years acc...

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Main Authors: Daniela dos Santos, Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroeni, Cecilia Burigo Corrê, Marco Fabio Mastroeni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2025-08-01
Series:Fisioterapia e Pesquisa
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-29502025000100218&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Daniela dos Santos
Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroeni
Cecilia Burigo Corrê
Marco Fabio Mastroeni
author_facet Daniela dos Santos
Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroeni
Cecilia Burigo Corrê
Marco Fabio Mastroeni
author_sort Daniela dos Santos
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Neck circumference (NC) indicates nutritional status and indirectly measures upper body subcutaneous fat, an independent predictor of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aims to analyze the accuracy of NC as a measure to assess excess body weight in children aged from two to nine years according to sex. Sampling included 435 children from the Predictors of Maternal and Infant Excess Body Weight Study, a birth cohort study carried out in Brazil in participants’ homes. Data were collected from January 2012 to October 2021. Participants were subjected to anthropometric assessments. Their demographic and socioeconomic data were obtained. A positive correlation (p<0.05) occurred between NC and weight, height, and body mass index in boys and girls in follow-ups. Except for the one-two-year age group (AUC=0.73; 95%CI 0.65–0.81 for boys and girls), the accuracy of NC in indicating excess body weight in boys and girls equaled 0.80 or higher (AUC: 0.80–0.95; 95%CI: 0.71–1.00). Our findings showed that NC can screen Brazilian children aged two-nine years for excess body weight. However, further studies involving larger sample sizes and other populations are necessary to complement the data in this study.
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spelling doaj-art-e23b13f0bf344f1c8339d963db1055ed2025-08-20T03:47:13ZengUniversidade de São PauloFisioterapia e Pesquisa2316-91172025-08-013210.1590/1809-2950/e23002124enNeck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 yearsDaniela dos Santoshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9865-4883Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroenihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0559-1797Cecilia Burigo Corrêhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8176-8334Marco Fabio Mastroenihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9276-8866ABSTRACT Neck circumference (NC) indicates nutritional status and indirectly measures upper body subcutaneous fat, an independent predictor of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aims to analyze the accuracy of NC as a measure to assess excess body weight in children aged from two to nine years according to sex. Sampling included 435 children from the Predictors of Maternal and Infant Excess Body Weight Study, a birth cohort study carried out in Brazil in participants’ homes. Data were collected from January 2012 to October 2021. Participants were subjected to anthropometric assessments. Their demographic and socioeconomic data were obtained. A positive correlation (p<0.05) occurred between NC and weight, height, and body mass index in boys and girls in follow-ups. Except for the one-two-year age group (AUC=0.73; 95%CI 0.65–0.81 for boys and girls), the accuracy of NC in indicating excess body weight in boys and girls equaled 0.80 or higher (AUC: 0.80–0.95; 95%CI: 0.71–1.00). Our findings showed that NC can screen Brazilian children aged two-nine years for excess body weight. However, further studies involving larger sample sizes and other populations are necessary to complement the data in this study.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-29502025000100218&lng=en&tlng=enOverweightNeckChildBody Mass IndexAnthropometry
spellingShingle Daniela dos Santos
Silmara Salete de Barros Silva Mastroeni
Cecilia Burigo Corrê
Marco Fabio Mastroeni
Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
Fisioterapia e Pesquisa
Overweight
Neck
Child
Body Mass Index
Anthropometry
title Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
title_full Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
title_fullStr Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
title_full_unstemmed Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
title_short Neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
title_sort neck circumference as a complementary measure for identifying excess body weight in children aged from 2 to 9 years
topic Overweight
Neck
Child
Body Mass Index
Anthropometry
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-29502025000100218&lng=en&tlng=en
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AT ceciliaburigocorre neckcircumferenceasacomplementarymeasureforidentifyingexcessbodyweightinchildrenagedfrom2to9years
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