Self-Reported Height and Weight in Oceanian School-Going Adolescents and Factors Associated With Errors

Are self-reported anthropometric data reliable enough to meet antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in orthopedic surgery?

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infection is a serious complication in orthopedic surgery. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) combined with other prevention strategies has been shown to reduce this risk to 1% for hip arthroplasty and 2% for knee arthroplasty. The French Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (SFAR) recommends doubling the dose when the patient's weight is greater than or equal to 100 kg, and the body mass index (BMI) is greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2. Similarly, patients with a BMIgreater than40 kg/m2 orlesser than18 kg/m2 are ineligible for surgery in our hospital. Self-reported anthropometric measurements are commonly used in clinical practice to calculate BMI, but their validity has not been assessed in the orthopedic literature. Therefore, we conducted a study comparing self-reported with systematically measured values and observed the impact these differences may have on perioperative AP regimens and contra-indications to surgery.

HYPOTHESIS

The hypothesis of our study was that self-reported anthropometric values differed from those measured during preoperative orthopedic consultations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This single-center retrospective study with prospective data collection was conducted between October and November 2018. The patient-reported anthropometric data were first collected and then directly measured by an orthopedic nurse. Weight was measured with a precision of 500 g and height was measured with a precision of 1 cm.

RESULTS

A total of 370 patients (259 women and 111 men) with a median age of 67 years (17-90) were enrolled. The data analysis found significant differences between the self-reported and measured height [166 cm (147-191) vs. 164 cm (141-191) (p<0.0001)], weight [72.9 kg (38-149) vs. 73.1 kg (36-140) (p<0.0005)] and BMI [26.3 (16.2-46.4) vs. 27 (16-48.2) (p<0.0001)]. Of these patients, 119 (32%) reported an accurate height, 137 (37%) an accurate weight, and 54 (15%) an accurate BMI. None of the patients had two accurate measurements. The maximum underestimation was 18 kg for weight, 9 cm for height, and 6.15 kg/m2 for BMI. The maximum overestimation was 28 kg for weight, 10 cm for height, and 7.2 kg/m2 for BMI. The verification of the anthropometric measurements identified another 17 patients who had contra-indications to surgery (12 with a BMI>40 kg/m2 and 5 with a BMI<18 kg/m2) and who would not have been detected based on the self-reported values.

CONCLUSIONS

Although patients underestimated their weight and overestimated their height in our study, these had no impact on the perioperative AP regimens. However, this misreporting failed to detect potential contraindications to surgery.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV; retrospective study with prospective data collection and no control group.

Reliability of Self-Reported Height and Weight in Children: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study and a Review

Since anthropometric measurements are not always feasible in large surveys, self-reported values are an alternative. Our objective was to assess the reliability of self-reported weight and height values compared to measured values in children with (1) a cross-sectional study in Switzerland and (2) a comprehensive review with a meta-analysis. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a school-based study in Switzerland of 2616 children and a review of 63 published studies including 122,629 children. In the cross-sectional study, self-reported and measured values were highly correlated (weight: r = 0.96; height: r = 0.92; body mass index (BMI) r = 0.88), although self-reported values tended to underestimate measured values (weight: -1.4 kg; height: -0.9 cm; BMI: -0.4 kg/m2). Prevalence of underweight was overestimated and prevalence of overweight was underestimated using self-reported values. In the meta-analysis, high correlations were found between self-reported and measured values (weight: r = 0.94; height: r = 0.87; BMI: r = 0.88). Weight (-1.4 kg) and BMI (-0.7 kg/m2) were underestimated, and height was slightly overestimated (+0.1 cm) with self-reported values. Self-reported values tended to be more reliable in children above 11 years old. Self-reported weight and height in children can be a reliable alternative to measurements, but should be used with caution to estimate over- or underweight prevalence.

Adolescent's self-reported weight and its association with media impact on decision to lose weight and body thinness perception

This study investigated the accuracy of self-reported weight among Kuwaiti adolescents and the associations of self-reported weight and calculated BMI with the impact of media use on adolescent’s decision to lose weight and body thinness perception. A total of 706 Kuwaiti adolescents (363 females) 15–18 year-olds were randomly selected from schools. Weight and height were self-reported by the adolescents and measured by the researchers. A specifically designed questionnaire reported the impact of media use on adolescent’s decision to lose weight and body thinness perception. There were significant (p < 0.001) relationships between measured and reported weight (r = 0.947), height (r = 0.777), and calculated BMI (r = 0.623). Intraclass correlation coefficients (95% CI) between self-reported and measured weight and height were 0.973 (0.968–0.977) and 0.867 (0.839–0.891), respectively. The mean differences between self-reported and measured weight (1.26 kg) and BMI (0.478 kg/m²) were relatively small. Females under-reported their weight and the calculated BMI from estimated weight and height was underestimated by adolescents with overweight/obesity. The impact of media use on the adolescent’s perception of being thin relative to the accuracy of the calculated BMI was significant (p = 0.043–0.001). The age-adjusted odds ratio of the calculated (underestimated) BMI in adolescents without overweight/obesity was 0.437 (95% CI = 0.257–0.741; p = 0.002). It was concluded that the validity of self-reported weight was high. Adolescents with overweight/obesity were more likely to underestimate their weight and calculated BMI. Educating adolescents about proper lifestyles and weight loss through media appears warranted.

Factors Influencing Parents' and Children's Misperception of Children's Weight Status: a Systematic Review of Current Research

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Misperception of children's weight status is prevalent among parents and children themselves and may impact parents' and children's health behaviors. This study was conducted in order to provide a descriptive systematic review of research on factors influencing parents' and children's misperceptions of children's weight status published in the past 5 years.

RECENT FINDINGS

Factors studied most often in relation to parents' and children's misperception included children's weight status, gender, and age, as well as parents' weight status, parental education levels and socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Most determinants that were found to have a significant influence on misperception in parents also did in children. The literature on misperception of children's weight status is extensive. Most determinants assessed in included studies were known determinants of childhood obesity. Further research should be directed toward better understanding the impact of weight status perception (whether it is accurate or not) on health behaviors and weight gain over time.