J Korean Acad Fundam Nurs.  2005 Dec;12(3):347-353.

Neck Circumference as a Measure for Identifying Obesity in Female College Students

• Chaung SK

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify whether neck circumference might be correlated with other obesity indices and to determine the neck circumference cutoff level for obesity in female college students. METHOD: The data were obtained by measuring other anthropometric indices including BMI and neck circumference from 325 female college students in J city, Chungbuk Province. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve(ROC curve) analysis was used to find the optimal neck circumference cutoff level against BMI 25kg/m2. RESULTS: The mean BMI was 21.4kg/m2, and the prevalence of obesity was 12.6%. Neck circumference was significantly correlated with body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist to hip ratio, % body fat, triceps skinfold thickness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Neck circumference of 31.95cm was the best cutoff level for determining female students with a BMI over 25kg/m2, and the characteristic was acceptable with 97.6% sensitivity and 85.6% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Neck circumference was strongly correlated with the other conventional obesity indices. Female college students with neck circumference over 31.95cm require an additional evaluation of obesity.

Keyword

Obesity; Neck circumference

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Blood Pressure
Body Weight
Chungcheongbuk-do
Female*
Hip
Humans
Neck*
Obesity*
Prevalence
ROC Curve
Sensitivity and Specificity
Skinfold Thickness
Waist Circumference