Change of neck circumference in relation to visceral fat area: a Chinese community-based longitudinal cohort study

Background/Objectives Neck circumference (NC) has been positively associated with visceral fat area (VFA) in cross-sectional studies. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of NC changes on VFA in a Chinese community-based longitudinal cohort. Subjects/Methods Subjects recruited from Shanghai communities were followed up for 1.1–2.9 years. A total of 1421 subjects (men 578, women 843) were included, aged 24–80 years, with an average age of 57.8 ± 7.1 years. Interventions/Methods Biochemical and anthropometric measurements, including NC, were obtained from all subjects. VFA was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Abdominal obesity was defined as a VFA ≥ 80 cm2. Results After a mean follow-up of 2.1 years, the NCs for men and women were 38.1 ± 2.3 cm and 33.8 ± 2.0 cm, respectively, and the average value of VFA was 84.55 (59.83–113.50) cm2. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, history of drinking, glycated hemoglobin, blood pressure and blood lipids, individuals who had gained a NC of more than 5% had 1.26 (95% CI: 1.05–1.49) times more visceral adipose tissue at follow-up than NC maintainers (NC change between –2.5% and 2.5%). In the non-abdominal obesity group at baseline (n = 683), after adjusting for confounding factors, changes in NC were associated with abdominal obesity (odd ratio 1.23, 95% CI: 1.09–1.39). Conclusions Changes in NC were positively associated with VFA in a Chinese community-based cohort, suggesting that NC measurement is practical for assessing abdominal obesity.