{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,2]],"date-time":"2026-11-02T22:38:34Z","timestamp":1793659114117,"version":"4.5.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783900800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Nutr"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Currently, no globally agreed mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) cut-offs exist to identify obesity in pregnant women. This study aimed to validate MUAC as an alternative to BMI for detecting maternal overweight\/obesity and establish optimal cut-offs. An ambispective cohort study was conducted in six Eastern Ethiopian hospitals, involving 2502 singleton pregnant women enrolled before 16 weeks of gestation. Maternal weight and MUAC were measured twice (early and late pregnancy). Using early-pregnancy BMI as the gold standard, MUAC\u2019s diagnostic accuracy was evaluated via linear regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Optimal MUAC cut-off points were determined using Youden\u2019s index, and diagnostics were calculated to evaluate MUAC performance. A significant positive correlation was observed between BMI and MUAC (early pregnancy:\n r<\/jats:italic>\n 0\u00b769; late pregnancy:\n r<\/jats:italic>\n 0\u00b772). Optimal MUAC cut-offs for overweight were 25\u00b795 cm (early) and 27\u00b705 cm (late); for obesity, 27\u00b775 cm (early) and 28\u00b785 cm (late), with high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. The regression equations were as follows: BMI during early pregnancy = 1\u00b709 + 0\u00b789 \u00d7 MUAC (95 % CI 0\u00b785, 0\u00b793;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0\u00b7001) and late-pregnancy BMI = \u20131\u00b769 + 0\u00b794 \u00d7 MUAC (95 % CI 0\u00b790, 0\u00b798;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0\u00b7001). The MUAC values \u2265 26 cm for maternal overweight and \u2265 28 for maternal obesity demonstrated good discriminatory performance and may serve as practical screening thresholds in resource-limited settings. Broader validation across diverse populations could facilitate the integration of MUAC into routine antenatal screening programmes, strengthening early identification and management of maternal overweight\/obesity.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0007114526107880","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T07:16:12Z","timestamp":1783926972000},"page":"1-12","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Mid-upper arm circumference as a screening tool for maternal overweight and obesity among pregnant women in Eastern Ethiopia"],"prefix":"10.1017","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2155-6097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Assefa","family":"Tola","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/059yk7s89","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tesfaye","family":"Gobena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lemessa","family":"Oljira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/059yk7s89","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tadesse","family":"Gure","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nega","family":"Assefa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]]},"container-title":["British Journal of Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S0007114526107880","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T07:15:13Z","timestamp":1784704513000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S0007114526107880\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]]},"references-count":0,"alternative-id":["S0007114526107880"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/s0007114526107880","relation":{},"ISSN":["0007-1145","1475-2662"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0007-1145","type":"print"},{"value":"1475-2662","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]]},"assertion":[{"value":"\u00a9 The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}