Mid-upper arm circumference and Neck Circumference as optimal proxies for Body Mass Index in the Assessment of Malnutrition and Metabolic Risks among the Older Adults in the Rural region of Delhi-NCR, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34256/ijk2624Keywords:
Somatometry, Calf circumference, Community-based, Sarcopenia, General ObesityAbstract
Introduction: BMI is traditionally used as a screening tool to assess malnutrition and evaluate metabolic risks among older adults. But it can misclassify individuals with a low muscle-to-fat ratio by masking progressive muscle loss and simultaneous visceral adiposity. Also, the compression of the vertebral column in older adults raises questions about the validity of height-dependent BMI calculations. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the utility of MUAC and NC as practical somatometric proxies for BMI among community-dwelling older adults in rural Delhi-NCR, India. Methods: A total of 404 participants, aged 60 years or older, were included in this study. Anthropometric variables were assessed using standardized instruments following the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) protocols, i.e., height using an Anthropometer rod; weight using an Omron Karada Scan Body Composition Monitor HBF-375; and MUAC, NC, and CC using a Cescorf anthropometric tape. Statistical significance was defined as ρ>0.60 and p<0.05. Low CC was treated as an indicator of a low muscle-to-fat ratio, a measure of malnutrition, and NC as a biomarker of metabolic risk. Results: NC was significantly correlated with BMI in both males and females (p<0.001). Similarly, among individuals with low CC (n=250), a significantly strong correlation between CC and MUAC was observed (p<0.001) when stratified by sex. Further, 40.40% of the individuals with low CC were misclassified as normal weight, regardless of having a low muscle-to-fat ratio. Conclusion: BMI masks progressive loss in muscle mass and can misclassify older adults while screening for metabolic risks. Hence, it may be an inadequate tool for assessing malnutrition and metabolic risks in the geriatric population. Therefore, using tape measurements such as MUAC and NC in screening older adults for malnutrition and metabolic risks may yield better results.
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Articles published in the International Journal of Kinanthropometry are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and the source.
