Diagnostic performance of neck circumference to identify overweight and obesity as defined by body mass index in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The neck circumference (NC) has been shown to be an accurate index for screening overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. AIM: To perform a meta-analysis to assess the performance of NC for the assessment of overweight and obesity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data sources were PubMed and EMBASE up to March 2016. Studies providing measures of diagnostic performance of NC and using body mass index as reference standard were included. RESULTS: Six eligible studies that evaluated 11 214 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years were included in the meta-analysis. NC showed pooled sensitivity to detect high body mass index of 0.780 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.765-0.794), specificity of 0.746 (95% CI = 0.736-0.756) and a diagnostic odds ratio of 17.343 (95% CI = 8.743-34.405). CONCLUSIONS: The NC had moderate diagnostic accuracy for identifying overweight and obesity in children and adolescents.