Neck circumference cut-off points for detecting overweight and obesity among school children in Northern Cyprus

Neck circumference is one of the anthropometric parameters that is widely used in practical applications, clinical and epidemiological studies in children. It is aimed to determine the neck circumference cut-off points and to use them in the detection of overweight and obesity in children living in Northern Cyprus. This cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2019 and January 2020, and covered a sample of 692 children (367 girls and 325 boys) aged 6-10 years attending primary schools in the Northern Cyprus. Body weight, height, neck circumference, waist circumference, subscapular and triceps skinfold tickness were measured. BF% was calculated with Slaughter equations. World Health Organization BMI cut-off points for age and gender percentiles were used to categorize obesity. BMI, WHtR, NC, body fat were calculated. The Pearson Correlation co-efficient between NC and the other anhtropometric measurements were calculated. Receiver operating characteristics analysis, sensitivity, specificity, PV + ve PV- was used to determine the optimal NC cut-off points for identifying children with overweight and obesity. NC was a statistically significant positive and strong relationship with body weight, BMI, waist circumference and hip circumference (p