Mid-upper arm circumference for identifying adult overweight in large-scale population-based surveys: empirical evaluation using data of the EAT Addis study, Ethiopia

Abstract

ObjectivesThe present study evaluates body circumferences as a nutrition screening tool for women of reproductive age with children less than 5 years of age to improve the detection of overweight and obesity in a community setting.DesignThis study draws data from a community-based cross-sectional study conducted between July–August 2017 and January–February 2018 to account for seasonality in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.SettingOne hundred and sixteen districts were included in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ParticipantsA total of 4914 women of reproductive age with children less than 5 years of age were participated in this study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimary outcome measures included anthropometric indices. There were no secondary outcomes.ResultsThe optimal cut-off points to identify overweight women of reproductive age were >87.5 cm for waist circumference (WC), >31.7 cm for neck circumference (NC) and >28.0 cm for mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) based on the highest corresponding Youden index. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.91 to 0.93) for WC, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.82 to 0.84) for NC and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.89 to 0.92) for MUAC.ConclusionsOur result shows that WC and MUAC are alternative tools to body mass index. Both WC and MUAC are effective in identifying overweight women. We recommend using MUAC in large-scale population-based assessments to identify overweight and obesity in low-income settings as it is logistically simpler and operationally feasible.

Mid-upper arm circumference as a substitute for body mass index in the assessment of nutritional status among adults in eastern Sudan

“…A similar MUAC cut-off (> 29.4 cm, sensitivity = 100% and specificity = 87.2%) was proposed and obtained in South Africa [ 12 ]. On the other hand, slightly higher MUAC cut-offs were demonstrated in the neighbouring country, South Sudan (31.1cm, sensitivity = 100% and specificity = 96.0%) [ 16 ], in Ethiopia (≥ 30.0 cm, sensitivity = 87.0 % and specificity = 83.0%) [ 32 ], among female and male farmers in Tanzania and Mozambique (≥ 31.5 cm ) [ 13 ], in northern Vietnam (≥ 31cm) [ 17 ] and among Chinese males (≥ 30.9 cm) [ 33 ].…”

Mid-upper arm circumference and neck circumference to screen for overweight-obesity in young adults in South India

“…However, 28.3–28.5 cm cut-off for women in our study is lower than that proposed in females in the same study (≥30.0 cm) [ 21 ]. Another large cohort in community based study in Ethiopian women of reproductive age; the proposed cut-off was 28.0 cm in age category of 25–34 years [ 22 ]. There have been very few studies that have used MUAC to screen for adult overweight and obesity in India.…”

Body composition and anthropometric indicators as predictors of blood pressure: a cross-sectional study conducted in young Algerian adults

“…The differences between crude anthropometric measurements and other methods predicting BP can be related to their associations with body composition and to technological https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114522002719 Published online by Cambridge University Press aspects. The good performance of SI Sf reflects the established association between abdominal fat and metabolic diseases (39) , but that of body weight and arm circumference is less clear although they are also associated with body fat (40,41) . Measures of body size (m or kg) rather than body shape (ratio) may be more directly related to risk factors such as genetic or early growth processes (42) .…”