Assessment of Anthropometric Indices for Optimal Cut-Offs for Obesity Screening in a South African Adolescent Population

Biology

Chungag Anye¹  Benedicta Ngwenchi Nkeh-Chungag²  Godwill Azeh Engwa²  Muhau Muhulo Mungamba³  Constance Rufaro Sewani-Rusike³  Boitumelo P. Letswalo³  Paul Chungag Anye⁴  Nandu Goswami⁵  Karin Schmid-Zalaudek⁵ 

[1] Dayenuel Consulting, Postnet Suites 092, Mthatha 5099, South Africa;Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa;Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5177, South Africa;MBCHB Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University PBX1, Mthatha 5117, South Africa;Physiology Division, Otto Loewi Research Center for Vascular Biology, Immunology and Inflammation, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstrasse 6, D-5 A 8036 Graz, Austria;

关键词: obesity;    anthropometric measures;    cut-off values;    South Africans of African ancestry;   

DOI  :  10.3390/biology10111118

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The assessment of obesity in sub-Saharan Africa relies on cut-offs established from western populations. This study assessed anthropometric indices to determine optimal cut-off values for obesity screening in the South African adolescent population. A cross-sectional study involving 1144 (796 females and 348 males) adolescents aged 11–17 years from the Eastern Cape Province of South African was conducted. Anthropometric parameters were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of obesity screening tools and establish cut-offs. The optimal cut-offs for obesity in the cohort using waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as reference were: neck circumference (NC) = 30.6 cm, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) = 25.9 cm, waist circumference (WC) = 75.1 cm, hip circumference (HC) = 92.15 cm and body mass index percentile (pBMI) = p85.2th. The new pBMI cut-off value at p85.2th improved the sensitivity of the test by approximately 30% compared to the CDC recommended BMI percentile (pBMIr) of p95.0th. When pBMI was used as reference, the optimal cut-offs in the cohort were: WHtR = 0.481, NC = 30.95 cm, MUAC = 27.95 cm, WC = 76.1 cm and HC = 95.75 cm. The WHtR optimal cut-off of 0.481 was close to the recommended cut-off value of 0.5. The predicted prevalence of obesity obtained using cut-offs from ROC analysis was higher than those from recommended references. All cut-off values for the various anthropometric measures generally increased with age for all percentile ranges. This study reveals a lower pBMI cut-off value, different from the CDC recommended cut-off, for screening obesity in a South African adolescent population. The study has established that the optimal pBMI cut-off for obesity screening may be ethnic-specific.

【 授权许可】

Unknown