Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria
Purpose – The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the increase in developing countries. Therefore, a cheap, accessible and simple screening tool such as the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is required for the prompt assessment. The purpose of this paper is to de...
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| Format: | Article |
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College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Health Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHR-03-2019-0051/full/pdf?title=determination-of-overnutrition-using-mid-upper-arm-circumference-in-comparison-with-bioelectrical-impedance-analysis-in-children-and-adolescents-in-benin-nigeria |
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| author | Sylvester Oriaifo Philip Abiodun Anthony Oyovwikigho Atimati Damian Nwaneri |
| author_facet | Sylvester Oriaifo Philip Abiodun Anthony Oyovwikigho Atimati Damian Nwaneri |
| author_sort | Sylvester Oriaifo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the increase in developing countries. Therefore, a cheap, accessible and simple screening tool such as the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is required for the prompt assessment. The purpose of this paper is to determine the usefulness of MUAC in assessing overnutrition in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Design/methodology/approach – Participants included 1,067 children aged 6–18 years recruited from private and public schools in Egor Local Government Area in Benin City, Nigeria. Body fat was estimated by BIA using a Tanita scale, whereas the MUAC was measured with a non-elastic tape. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to test the ability of MUAC to determine children and adolescents identified as overweight and obese by BIA. Findings – The prevalence of overnutrition by MUAC (12.4 percent – overweight 6.0 percent and obesity 6.4 percent) was comparable to that by BIA (12.3 percent – overweight 5.4 percent, obesity 6.9 percent). There was a significant correlation between MUAC and body fat percentage, fat mass, fat mass index and fat-free mass index in both males and females (p=0.000). Research limitations/implications – This study, in contrast to most other studies on the use of MUAC in the assessment of overnutrition, has the advantage of using BIA cut-offs values against body mass index which does not assess body fat composition. BIA is, however, not the gold standard in the measurement of body fat composition. The optimal MUAC cut-off values of this study may not be representative of the entire country because of its restriction to Benin. Similar studies from different parts of Nigeria will be required to validate this smoothed MUAC percentiles for use in the screening of children and adolescents for overnutrition. Originality/value – MUAC compares well with BIA in this study and can be a useful, alternative and practical screening tool for assessing obesity in the resource-poor setting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:42:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c9364b0cf3a4e8d83daeff930a3fe70 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0857-4421 2586-940X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:42:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Health Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c9364b0cf3a4e8d83daeff930a3fe702023-09-03T05:55:55ZengCollege of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn UniversityJournal of Health Research0857-44212586-940X2020-01-01341687810.1108/JHR-03-2019-0051635543Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, NigeriaSylvester Oriaifo0Philip Abiodun1Anthony Oyovwikigho Atimati2Damian Nwaneri3Department of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, NigeriaDepartment of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, NigeriaDepartment of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, NigeriaDepartment of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, NigeriaPurpose – The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the increase in developing countries. Therefore, a cheap, accessible and simple screening tool such as the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is required for the prompt assessment. The purpose of this paper is to determine the usefulness of MUAC in assessing overnutrition in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Design/methodology/approach – Participants included 1,067 children aged 6–18 years recruited from private and public schools in Egor Local Government Area in Benin City, Nigeria. Body fat was estimated by BIA using a Tanita scale, whereas the MUAC was measured with a non-elastic tape. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to test the ability of MUAC to determine children and adolescents identified as overweight and obese by BIA. Findings – The prevalence of overnutrition by MUAC (12.4 percent – overweight 6.0 percent and obesity 6.4 percent) was comparable to that by BIA (12.3 percent – overweight 5.4 percent, obesity 6.9 percent). There was a significant correlation between MUAC and body fat percentage, fat mass, fat mass index and fat-free mass index in both males and females (p=0.000). Research limitations/implications – This study, in contrast to most other studies on the use of MUAC in the assessment of overnutrition, has the advantage of using BIA cut-offs values against body mass index which does not assess body fat composition. BIA is, however, not the gold standard in the measurement of body fat composition. The optimal MUAC cut-off values of this study may not be representative of the entire country because of its restriction to Benin. Similar studies from different parts of Nigeria will be required to validate this smoothed MUAC percentiles for use in the screening of children and adolescents for overnutrition. Originality/value – MUAC compares well with BIA in this study and can be a useful, alternative and practical screening tool for assessing obesity in the resource-poor setting.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHR-03-2019-0051/full/pdf?title=determination-of-overnutrition-using-mid-upper-arm-circumference-in-comparison-with-bioelectrical-impedance-analysis-in-children-and-adolescents-in-benin-nigeriaadolescentschildrenbioelectrical impedance analysismid-upper arm circumferenceovernutritionnigeria |
| spellingShingle | Sylvester Oriaifo Philip Abiodun Anthony Oyovwikigho Atimati Damian Nwaneri Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria Journal of Health Research adolescents children bioelectrical impedance analysis mid-upper arm circumference overnutrition nigeria |
| title | Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria |
| title_full | Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria |
| title_fullStr | Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria |
| title_short | Determination of overnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in Benin, Nigeria |
| title_sort | determination of overnutrition using mid upper arm circumference in comparison with bioelectrical impedance analysis in children and adolescents in benin nigeria |
| topic | adolescents children bioelectrical impedance analysis mid-upper arm circumference overnutrition nigeria |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHR-03-2019-0051/full/pdf?title=determination-of-overnutrition-using-mid-upper-arm-circumference-in-comparison-with-bioelectrical-impedance-analysis-in-children-and-adolescents-in-benin-nigeria |
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