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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Reproducibility of anthropometric measurements in children: a longitudinal study

Aire Leppik1, Toivo Jürimäe, Jaak Jürimäe

  • 1Chair of Sport Pedagogy, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Bericht Uber Die Biologisch-Anthropologische Literatur
|April 28, 2004
PubMed

Insights

This study found high reproducibility in anthropometric measures like height and weight for children over three years. Skinfold measurements showed good reproducibility, especially just before puberty.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric anthropometry
  • Growth and development studies

Background:

  • Accurate anthropometric measurements are crucial for monitoring child growth and health.
  • Establishing the reliability of these measurements over time is essential for longitudinal studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the reproducibility of various anthropometric measurements in children over a three-year period.
  • To evaluate the reliability of skinfolds, girths, lengths, and breadths/lengths in a pediatric cohort.

Main Methods:

  • 39 children (9-10 years old) were measured three times annually for three years.
  • Standard anthropometric protocols were followed, including height, weight, BMI, nine skinfolds, 13 girths, eight lengths, and eight breadths/lengths.
  • Reproducibility was assessed using intraclass correlations (ICC), technical errors (TE), and coefficients of variation (CV).

Main Results:

  • Body height, weight, and BMI demonstrated very high reproducibility (r = 0.990-0.999).
  • Girth, length, and breadth/length measurements showed consistently high ICC values and low TE/CV.
  • Skinfold measurements exhibited high reproducibility, with the highest ICCs and lowest TE/CV observed in the second year of measurement.

Conclusions:

  • Anthropometric measurements of girths, lengths, and breadths/lengths are highly reproducible in children.
  • Skinfold measurements are also reproducible, particularly in the pre-pubertal period for both boys and girls.
  • These findings support the reliability of these anthropometric techniques for tracking pediatric growth and development.

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