Relationship between visceral fat and neck circumference in patients with metabolic syndrome

People's environment, behavior and lifestyle are dramatically changing. Depending on these changes, there is a dramatic increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes. The metabolic syndrome is a combination of multi-factorial risk factors, which affects more people because of increased incidence of obesity and diabetes. The metabolic syndrome is one of the major health problems of the 21st century. In this descriptive study, we aimed to compare neck circumference measurements with some of the metabolic and anthropometric measurements in patients presenting with complains of weight, and to show the correlation between visceral fat rates and neck circumference measurements especially in patients with metabolic syndrome. 179 patients with complains of weight were included to the study from 01.02.2009 to 01.02.2011, at the diabetes and obesity outpatient clinic of Baskent University. Research data were analyzed with the statistic program SPSS version 16.0. Pearson Chi-square test were used for hypothetical analysis and levels of significance of the data. Of 179 patients, 77% (n=137) were women, 23% (n=42) were men (F: M ratio=3.26). The mean age was 37±13.15 years. Forty of our patients (22.3%) were diagnosed as metabolic syndrome. The mean neck circumference was 35.15±3.48 cm in those without metabolic syndrome, and 38.40±4.13 cm in those with metabolic syndrome. Statistically significant positive correlation was demonstrated between neck circumference measurements and visceral fat rates in patients with metabolic syndrome (r=0,71; p=0,01). Our study revealed that, neck circumference measurement is a valuable and indicating measurement just as the waist circumference measurement which is one of the NCEP ATP III criteria, in identifying visceral fat in patients with metabolic syndrome. Key Words: Neck Circumference, Visceral fat, Anthropometric, Metabolic Syndrome.