Neck Circumference Positively Relates to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in College Students

Authors

Oluremi A. Famodu, West Virginia University
Makenzie L. Barr, West Virginia University
Sarah E. Colby, The University of Tennessee
Wenjun Zhou, The University of Tennessee
Ida Holaskova, West Virginia UniversityFollow
Miriam P. Leary, West Virginia University
Carol Bryd-Bredbenner, Rutgers University
Anne E. Matthews, University of Florida
Melissa D. Olfert, West Virginia UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6324-7305

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6332-215X

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8298-3690

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2346-8151

N/A

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8010-3987

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3504-5826

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6686-3891

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

College/Unit

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department/Program/Center

Animal and Nutritional Sciences

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between neck circumference (NC) and other anthropometric measures and examine cut-off points for males and females according to existing waist circumference cut-off levels in this age group. Across 8 universities, 1562 students underwent a physical assessment. Spearman rho correlations (ρ) were calculated to determine associations between NC and other continuous variables of health. Receiving operating characteristic curves were constructed to assess the optimal cut-off levels of NC of males and females with central obesity. Participants were predominantly Caucasian (67%), female (70%), and outside of Appalachia 2 (82%). Forty-one percent of males and 34% of females had a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m . In both sexes, significant positive correlations were seen between NC and body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and systolic blood pressure (all p-values < 0.0001). NC ≥ 38 cm for males and ≥33.5 cm for females were the optimal cut-off values to determine subjects with central obesity. NC has been identified to closely correlate with other anthropometric measurements related to disease and could be used as a convenient, low-cost, and noninvasive measurement in large-scale studies.

Digital Commons Citation

Famodu, Oluremi A.; Barr, Makenzie L.; Colby, Sarah E.; Zhou, Wenjun; Holaskova, Ida; Leary, Miriam P.; Bryd-Bredbenner, Carol; Matthews, Anne E.; and Olfert, Melissa D., "Neck Circumference Positively Relates to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in College Students" (2018). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1485.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1485

Source Citation

Famodu, O., Barr, M., Colby, S., Zhou, W., Holásková, I., Leary, M., Byrd-Bredbenner, C., Mathews, A., & Olfert, M. (2018). Neck Circumference Positively Relates to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in College Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(7), 1480. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071480

Comments

1. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).