Influence of neck circumference, waist circumference and body mass index among children with overweight and normal weight

OBJECTIVE: To compare the measurements of neck circumference, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) between obese and eutrophic children. METHODS: Cross-sectional research, using primary and case control data, with a comparative approach of anthropometric variables, carried out with 218 students, 119 girls and 99 boys, from a municipal elementary school in São Paulo. Data collected were sex, age, body weight, height, neck circumference (NC), and waist circumference (WC). The BMI was calculated and classified using the BMI growth curve, according to age, in percentiles. For data analysis, non-parametric tests were applied. RESULTS: According to the BMI, 36.2% of the children were overweight when the agreement test was performed between all physical circumference measurements. However, there was a weaker agreement between BMI and NC and between BMI and WC measures. The correlation between the measures was greater between BMI and WC (62%), compared to between BMI and WC and between NC and WC. CONCLUSION: The use of the NC measure, as an additional measure for anthropometric assessment in pediatric patients, is suggested, due to its practicality and as a complement for screening and monitoring childhood obesity.