Neck circumference as marker of overweight and obesity among secondary adolescents aged 12-19 years in southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional survey

Background 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[0.73–0.94] and ≥ 32.0cm with an AUC of 0.59[0.11-1.00] 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.