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

BACKGROUND: In the last two decades, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) has gained importance in the assessment of obesity. There is no evidence regarding the accuracy of MUAC for assessing overweight and obesity in Argentina. AIM: To analyse the accuracy of MUAC to identify children and adolescents with overweight/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 2005 and 2016. Overweight/obesity was defined using the International Obesity Task Force reference. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was applied to assess the diagnostic performance of MUAC compared to BMI in classifying subjects with overweight/obesity. RESULTS: = 0.92). Boys had higher 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 18.5 to 28 cm in boys and from 17.4 to 28 cm in girls and showed high sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: This research provides evidence supporting MUAC as a practical and cost-effective tool for screening and monitoring obesity in paediatric populations.