Abstract:
Objective: The present research attempted to examine the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) and determined the best age and sex-specific cut-off values of MUAC in order to identify overweight/obese (i.e., BMI =85th percentile) Pakistani children and adolescent, aged 12-18 years. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 4962 children aged 12-18 years was conducted in Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight and MUAC) from 3022 boys and 1940 girls were measured. The linear relationship between MUAC and BMI was found by means of regression analysis and the Pearson correlation co-efficient values were also calculated between MUAC and other anthropometric variables. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis were performed to determine the best MUAC cut-off values for identifying overweight/obesity children. Results: For overall sample, the mean (±SD) age, BMI and MUAC were 14.09 (± 1.72) years, 17.86 (± 2.71) Kg/m2 and 20.24 (± 2.66) cm, respectively. Our results showed that MUAC had a strong significant positive correlation with BMI (r=0.66; p<0.001). The optimal MUAC cutoff points to discriminate children with high BMI (i.e., BMI =85th percentile), ranged from 19.43 to 23.11 in boys, while the corresponding values in girls ranged from 19.56 to 24.76. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, we conclude that MUAC has a good potential of screening children with high BMI. For different age- groups, MUAC with ranges 19.43-23.11cm for boys and 16.56-24.76 cm for girls could be used as cut-off for identifying overweight or obese children.
Page(s):
42-47
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Pakistan Paediatric Journal, Volume: 42, Issue: 1, Year: 2018
Keywords:
Body Mass Index
,
Obesity
,
Body weight
,
Midupper arm circumference