title: [Waist circumference, waist/height ratio, and neck circumference as parameters of central obesity assessment in children].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze studies that assessed the anthropometric parameters waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHR) and neck circumference (NC) as indicators of central obesity in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed and SciELO databases using the combined descriptors: "Waist circumference", "Waist-to-height ratio", "Neck circumference", "Children" and "Abdominal fat" in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Inclusion criteria were original articles with information about the WC, WHR and NC in the assessment of central obesity in children. We excluded review articles, short communications, letters and editorials.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1,525 abstracts were obtained in the search, and 68 articles were selected for analysis. Of these, 49 articles were included in the review. The WC was the parameter more used in studies, followed by the WHR. Regarding NC, there are few studies in children. The predictive ability of WC and WHR to indicate central adiposity in children was controversial. The cutoff points suggested for the parameters varied among studies, and some differences may be related to ethnicity and lack of standardization of anatomical site used for measurement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More studies are needed to evaluate these parameters for determination of central obesity children. Scientific literature about NC is especially scarce, mainly in the pediatric population. There is a need to standardize site measures and establish comparable cutoff points between different populations.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG, Brasil. Electronic address: elma_izze@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Elma Izze da Silva
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luciana Ferreira da Rocha
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Silvia Eloiza
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Priore
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Sylvia do Carmo Castro
authors.initials: Sdo C
authors.lastname: Franceschini
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055105:Waist Circumference
keywords: Body fat; Central obesity; Children; Crianças; Gordura corporal; Neck circumference; Obesidade central; Perímetro da cintura; Perímetro do pescoço; Relação cintura/estatura; Waist circumference; Waist-to-height ratio