Neck circumference is similarly predicting for impairment of glucose tolerance as classic anthropometric parameters among healthy and obese children and adolescents

Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the association of neck circumference (NC) to parameters of glucose homeostasis compared to classical anthropometric parameters of lean and obese children. Methods: Three dimensional (3D)-body scanning quantified anthropometric (height, weight, NC, hip/waist circumference, BMI) and metabolic parameters ( fasting plasma glucose [FPG], insulin, HbA(1c), oGTT, HOMA-IR) were determined cross-sectionally in 1542 participants (5-18 years). Results: NC was positively correlated with all metabolic parameters, except for FPG. For HbA(1c) there was only a modestly positive correlation. The associations between NC and glucose parameters were rather weak, while the correlation to insulin parameters were stronger. Overall the strongest association to glucose metabolism parameters was found for waist circumference (WC), except for FPG and 2h-postload glucose. In multiple linear regression analyses, NC provided additional benefit beyond classical anthropometric indices to describe impairment of glucose homeostasis. Conclusions: We suggest that NC is comparable or additive to established anthropometric parameters but might not be superior to them. However NC is simple to measure, reproducible and may be considered in clinical practice as an additional measurement tool.