Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the cut−off values for waist circumference (WC) and mid−upper arm circumference (MUAC) and to assess their use in screening for obesity in children.Methods: Anthropometric measurements of a total of 2621 boys and 2737 girls aged 6−17 years were analyzed. WC and MUAC values were compared with ROC analysis using body mass index (BMI) cut−off values of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and using WC≥ 90th percentile.for MUAC.Results: In both genders, except for boys and girls in the 6−year age group and post−pubertal boys, the differences between area under curve (AUC) values for WC and MUAC were not significant, indicating that both indices performed equally well in predicting obesity. Sensitivity was suboptimal through age groups 6−9 years in the boys and sensitivity was suboptimal at 6, 7,14 and 17 years both in boys and girls.Conclusions: We conclude that MUAC can be a useful parameter in screening obesity and body fat distribution in children and, can be applied in epidemiological studies and in clinical practice.Conflict of interest:None declared.

This study provides NC percentiles, means and medians values and analyses their significance in obesity evaluation in clinical practice.

Since BMI may not always reflect body fat content, direct assessment of adiposity by a practical method would be significantly useful for clinical decisions. Therefore, this study provides normative data for body fat percentage in healthy Turkish children and adolescents. To this goal we used a practical and clinically applicable method. These references can be useful for evaluation of overweight and obesity.

Sleep duration may be an important factor for obesity and providing > or =10 h of sleep is recommended as a prevention strategy for obesity.

The aim of the study was to establish cross-sectional reference values for the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) and arm fat area (AFA) of Turkish children and adolescents. In total 5,553 students aged between 6 and 17 years were selected by a multistage sampling method from schools representing city centre, rural and urban areas of Kayseri, Central Anatolia. The MUAC and TSF were measured, and the arm muscle area, arm area, AFA and fat percentage (%) were calculated. The LMS method was employed to calculate the MUAC, TSF and AFA curve parameters. The MUAC, TSF, AFA and fat percentage in each age group were significantly higher in girls than in boys. In boys, the TSF 50th percentile ranged from 7.6 mm at 17 years to 9.0 mm at 11 years; whereas in girls this ranged from 9.4 mm at 6 years to 14.6 mm at 17 years. The MUAC 50th percentile ranged from 17.0 to 23.6 cm in boys, and from 15.6 cm to 20.9 cm in girls. The AFA 50th percentile measurements ranged from 4.5 cm at 6 years to 5.8 cm at 12-14 years in boys; and ranged from 7.2 cm at 6 years to 14.8 cm at 17 years in girls. The percentile distribution was more disperse towards higher TSF and AFA values in boys than in girls.