Mid-Upper-Arm Circumference (MUAC) as a Simple Measure to Assess the Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls as Compared With BMI

Abstract

Background. The use of mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) as a screening measure for assessing undernutrition has the following advantages: makes use of simple equipment, is easy to carry to field sites, and requires minimal training. MUAC cutoffs for undernutrition are available for children and adults but not for adolescents. Objective. To compare MUAC with BMI in assessing undernutrition among adolescent girls and to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of MUAC as a tool in assessing their nutritional status. Methodology. A total of 565 unmarried adolescent girls of both school-going and non-school-going age (16-18 years old) from the urban slums of Pune city Maharashtra, India, were recruited for the cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and MUAC were recorded. Results. The percentage of adolescents who were malnourished was 4.8% according to BMI and 5.0% for MUAC. BMI highly correlated with MUAC (r = 0.593), and MUAC as a screening tool showed 28.57% sensitivity and 96.46% specificity. Further studies among different age groups need to be carried out to arrive at standard cutoffs for MUAC.