Accuracy of the mid-upper arm circumference in screening for overweight and obesity in Argentinian children and adolescents

Abstract

Background: In the last two decades, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) has gainedimportance in the assessment of obesity. There is no evidence regarding the accuracyof MUAC for assessing overweight and obesity in Argentina.Aim: To analyse the accuracy of MUAC to identify children and adolescents withoverweight/obesity according to body mass index (BMI) status.Subjects and methods: Anthropometric data (weight, height, MUAC) of 7,485 children and adolescents aged 5–17 years were collected in three school surveys between 2005and 2016. Overweight/obesity was defined using the International Obesity Task Forcereference. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was applied to assessthe diagnostic performance of MUAC compared to BMI in classifying subjects withoverweight/obesity.Results: In both sexes, MUAC and BMI were strongly correlated (r = 0.92). Boys hadhigher MUAC than girls from age 14 onwards. The overall area under the ROC curve(AUC) in both sexes ranged from 0.93 to 0.99. The MUAC cut-offs increased from 18.5to 28 cm in boys and from 17.4 to 28 cm in girls and showed high sensitivity andspecificity.Conclusion: This research provides evidence supporting MUAC as a practical andcost-effective tool for screening and monitoring obesity in paediatric populations.