Obesity & Neck Size - Study
Neck Circumference as a Simple Screening
Measure for Identifying Overweight and Obese Patients
Obesity & Neck Study - Aim
There are numerous methods of assessing overweight and obesity. We undertook
an observational study to test a method of identifying overweight or obese
patients solely by measuring the circumference of the neck.
Obesity & Neck Study - Methods
A test sample and a second validation sample included 979 subjects (460
men and 519 women), who visited a family medicine clinic in a southern
Israeli urban district for any reason between the randomly chosen months
of January and September 1998. Main outcome included neck, waist, and
hip circumferences; body mass index (BMI); and waist:hip ratio measures.
Obesity & Neck Study - Results
Pearson's correlation coefficients indicated a significant association
between neck circumference (NC) and: BMI, age, weight, waist circumference,
hip circumference, and waist:hip ratio. Neck circumference 37 cm for men
and 34 cm for women were the best cutoff levels for determining the subjects
with BMI 25.0 kg/m2 using the receiver output curve analysis. In the validation
unrelated group, the test characteristics were excellent with 98 percent
sensitivity, 89 percent specificity, and 94 percent accuracy for men,
and 100 percent sensitivity, 98 percent specificity, and 99 percent accuracy
for women. Neck circumference 39.5 cm for men and 36.5 cm for women were
the best cutoff levels for determining the subjects with BMI 30 kg/m2
using the receiver output curve analysis. In the validation unrelated
group, the test characteristics were excellent with 93 percent sensitivity,
90 percent specificity, and 91 percent accuracy for men, and 93 percent
sensitivity, 98 percent specificity, and 97 percent accuracy for women.
Obesity & Neck Study - Issues
Neck circumference measurement is a simple and time-saving screening measure
that can be used to identify overweight and obese patients. Men with neck
circumference<37 cm and women with neck circumference<34 cm are
not to be considered overweight. Patients with NC 37 cm for men and 34
cm for women require additional evaluation of overweight or obesity status.
Source: Tel Aviv University 2001
Weight Loss & Obesity Reduction
The science of weight loss and weight management is constantly evolving,
along with research into diet modification, types of gastrointestinal
weight loss surgery and weight loss drugs. At present, however, a balanced
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