Study of Neck Circumference as a Measure of Obesity in South-Eastern Nigerian Population.
Obesity is one of the key risk factors in the development of cardiometabolic diseases, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between neck circumference with body mass index and also with other anthropometric parameter in the assessment of obesity in the study population.
The area for the cross-sectional study was in the towns of Nnewi, Onitsha, and Awka in Anambra State, Nigeria. The subjects were drawn from Igbo speaking states of the South-Eastern Nigeria
who were resident in Anambra State.
Indication shows that overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths; at least 2-8 million adults pass on each year as a result of being overweight or obese. 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischemic heart disease, 7% to 41% of certain cancer burdens have been attributable to overweight and obesity.
Pearson’s correlation showed that neck circumference had a very significant positive correlation with BMI, WC, HC and WHR (p<0.05) for both the males and the females. In our study, the anthropometric variables investigated revealed sexual differences and this finding agrees with the report by 23,29,30.Ben-Noun and colleagues in Israel found a cut-off point of 39.5 for men and 36.5 for women. In Chinese study, Yang and colleagues also found the best cut-off point of neck circumference for central obesity in men to be equal to 37 cm and in women equal to 35 cm
Conclusively, this study found that NC had a positive correlation with other anthropometric parameters of obesity especially with BMI and WC, just like other previous studies o Neck circumference is a screening measure for overweight and obesity.
Anthropol Open J. 2018; 3(1): 11-17. doi: 10.17140/ANTPOJ-3-116
