Accuracy of parents' reports of height and weight

Wing, Rena R.; Epstein, Leonard H.; Neff, Deborah

doi:10.1007/bf01338927

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Nevertheless, for most studies that make direct comparisons, the mean parent-reported child height and weight were close to the corresponding measured means, usually within Ϯ1 cm or Ϯ1 kg, [76][77][78][79][80] and reasonably represented by underestimates and overestimates of the measured means. There are, however, exceptions.…”

Section: Parent-reported Height Weight and Bmimentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The few studies that have investigated this question indicated that parental reports of child weight tend to overestimate the lightest children and underestimate the heaviest children, or a regression toward the overall measured mean. 63,76,80,82 From these reporting biases related to measured child size, one should expect the prevalences of child overweight and obesity based on parental reports to systematically underestimate corresponding prevalences based on measured BMI. Nevertheless, the studies that have found both prevalences of obesity are about equally represented by those that found parental reports to yield higher prevalences of obesity compared with estimates based on measured BMI 81,82 and those that found parental reports to yield lower prevalences of obesity.…”

Section: Parent-reported Height Weight and Bmimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges of Accurately Measuring and Using BMI and Other Indicators of Obesity in Children

2009

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BMI is an important indicator of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence. When measurements are taken carefully and compared with appropriate growth charts and recommended cutoffs, BMI provides an excellent indicator of overweight and obesity that is sufficient for most clinical, screening, and surveillance purposes. Accurate measurements of height and weight require that adequate attention be given to data collection and management. Choosing appropriate equipment and measurement protocols and providing regular training and standardization of data collectors are critical aspects that apply to all settings in which BMI will be measured and used. Proxy measures for directly measured BMI, such as self-reports or parental reports of height and weight, are much less preferred and should only be used with caution and cognizance of the limitations, biases, and uncertainties attending these measures. There is little evidence that other measures of body fat such as skinfolds, waist circumference, or bioelectrical impedance are sufficiently practicable or provide appreciable added information to be used in the identification of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese. Consequently, for most clinical, school, or community settings these measures are not recommended for routine practice. These alternative measures of fatness remain important for research and perhaps in some specialized screening situations that include a specific focus on risk factors for cardiovascular or diabetic disease. ]) has probably become the most common indicator used to assess overweight and obesity in a wide variety of settings, including clinical, public health, and community-based programs. Although it is certainly not a perfect surrogate for total body fatness and not without its technical limitations, 1 BMI has been recommended as the most appropriate single indicator of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents outside of research settings. [2][3][4] One of the attractive features of BMI is that it is derived from measurements of height and weight. These 2 anthropometric dimensions are the ones most commonly collected on children worldwide. These 2 measurements are noninvasive, relatively inexpensive to obtain, and relatively easily understood by health practitioners, the individuals being measured, and their families.Mentioning child measurements of height and weight, individuals may be reminded of their own marks on the door sills and the bathroom scales of their childhood homes. So, although wide familiarity with height and weight enhances the use and understanding of a measure such as BMI, it also may desensitize health professionals to the need to give adequate attention to issues concerning how height and weight data are collected. Accordingly, one may hear the comment, "Anyone can measure height and weight." Although one must actually agree with the language, if not the intent, of this easy declaration, many health professionals are unaware that there are consequences for the usefulness and ac...

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Section: Parent-reported Height Weight and Bmimentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Parent-reported Height Weight and Bmimentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of Accurately Measuring and Using BMI and Other Indicators of Obesity in Children

2009

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“…Wing (1980) 4 found that when fathers self-reported their own heights, they overestimated to a greater extent than other self-reporting family members. Similarly, family informants overestimated the heights of fathers to a much greater extent compared with other family members.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of the heights and weights of family members: accuracy of informant reports

1998

Int J Obes

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OBJECTIVE: Information about the accuracy of family informant estimates of height and weight should assist investigators in evaluating the costs and bene®ts of using this type of data in genetic study designs. DESIGN AND METHOD: To assess the accuracy of family informant estimates, 374 ®rst-degree relatives from 94 Caucasian families, gave estimates about the heights and weights of their ®rst degree relatives. These estimates were compared with measured heights and weights to determine their accuracy. RESULTS: Informant estimates were highly predictive of measured heights (r 0.95), and weights (r 0.94), but informants systematically overestimated heights (mean 1.4 cm) and underestimated weights of their family members (mean 4.1 kg). CONCLUSIONS: On average, height estimates were generally within 1% of the measured height and weight estimates were within 3 ± 5% of the measured weight. Therefore, these proxy measures can provide useful data, when measured or self-reported heights and weights are not available.

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“…A substantial body of research has studied the accuracy of parental reports of child weight; in general, this literature finds that parents tend to underreport the weights of relatively heavy children and therefore obesity is underestimated (Scholtens et al 2007;Wing et al 1980;Davis and Gergen, 1994). However, several studies conclude that parental reports are sufficiently accurate to be used in research (Garcia-Marcos et al 2006;Sekine et al 2002;Goodman et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obesity and Developmental Functioning Among Children Aged 2-4 Years

Cawley

Spieß

2008

SSRN Journal

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research at DIW BerlinThis series presents research findings based either directly on data from the German SocioEconomic Panel Study (SOEP) or using SOEP data as part of an internationally comparable data set (e.g. CNEF, ECHP, LIS, LWS, CHER/PACO). SOEP is a truly multidisciplinary household panel study covering a wide range of social and behavioral sciences: economics, sociology, psychology, survey methodology, econometrics and applied statistics, educational science, political science, public health, behavioral genetics, demography, geography, and sport science.The decision to publish a submission in SOEPpapers is made by a board of editors chosen by the DIW Berlin to represent the wide range of disciplines covered by SOEP. There is no external referee process and papers are either accepted or rejected without revision. Papers appear in this series as works in progress and may also appear elsewhere. They often represent preliminary studies and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be requested from the author directly.Any opinions expressed in this series are those of the author(s) and not those of DIW Berlin.Research disseminated by DIW Berlin may include views on public policy issues, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions.

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Accuracy of parents' reports of height and weight

Cited by 24 publications

References 6 publications

Challenges of Accurately Measuring and Using BMI and Other Indicators of Obesity in Children

Challenges of Accurately Measuring and Using BMI and Other Indicators of Obesity in Children

Estimates of the heights and weights of family members: accuracy of informant reports

Obesity and Developmental Functioning Among Children Aged 2-4 Years

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