Researchers at the Miguel Severt University Hospital in Zaragoza, Spain, found that the risk of malnutrition increased with an increased neck circumference for older men below 37.8 cm and for women below 35.2 cm. The study was published in the June issue of nutrition.
The study manually recruited 352 elderly Spanish people, with an average age of 83 years, and collected data on dimensions related to their bodies, such as arm circumference and calf circumference, to study the relationship between these data and the risk of malnutrition.
Studies have found that neck circumference and calf circumference are the best predictors of malnutrition risk. Among them, the minimum neck circumference for elderly women without risk of malnutrition is 35.2 cm, and for older men is 37.8cm.
bibliography:
Lardiés-Sánchez B, Arbones-Mainar J M, Perez-Nogueras J, et al. Neck circumference is associated with nutritional status in elderly nursing home residents[J]. Nutrition, 2019, 62: 153-157.