Relationship Between Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Children Aged 6 - 12 Years: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Obesity has become one of the most important health problems worldwide. Body mass index (BMI) is a clinical assessment of overweight and obesity in children, although mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) assessment is more straightforward, especially for parents. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between MUAC and BMI in children aged 6 - 12 years. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 455 elementary school children aged 6 - 12, including 278 girls and 177 boys with a mean age of 8.8 ± 1.8 years selected using the census method. Our researcher was trained for anthropometric data collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 25 software using Mann-Whitney, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The mean age was 9.19 ± 1.8 years, the mean height was 135 ± 12 cm, the mean weight was 31.85 ± 11 kg, the mean MUAC was 21 ± 3.1 cm, and the mean BMI was 17 ± 3.6 kg/m2. There was a significant correlation between MUAC and BMI in both sexes, but it was stronger in girls than in boys (P-value < 0.05). The MUAC cutoff point was 23.75 cm (77% sensitivity and 80% specificity) and 24.75 cm (93% sensitivity and 88% specificity) for overweigh and obesity in girls, respectively. Also, it was 23.25 cm (88% sensitivity and 83% specificity) and 25.25 cm (87% sensitivity and 90% specificity) for overweigh and obesity in boys, respectively. Conclusions: We recommend MUAC as a predictor of early diagnosis of overweight and obesity.