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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

Body mass index of children from the United Kingdom diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders

Paul Whiteley1, Kalliopi Dodou, Lynda Todd

  • 1Autism Research Unit, University of Sunderland, UK. paul.whiteley@sunderland.ac.uk

Pediatrics International : Official Journal of the Japan Pediatric Society
|October 20, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Boys with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) show higher than average height, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Many PDD patients exceed overweight and obesity cut-offs, indicating a need for further research.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Developmental Disorders
  • Anthropometry

Background:

  • Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) can impact physical development.
  • Accurate anthropometric data is crucial for monitoring health in children with PDD.
  • Parental reporting of measurements is a common data collection method.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine Body Mass Index (BMI) in UK boys with PDD using parental height and weight reports.
  • To compare anthropometric data of PDD boys against reference populations.
  • To identify potential weight status concerns in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Pilot study analyzing parental reports of height and weight.
  • Calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) in kilograms per meter squared (kg m(-2)).
  • Comparison with age and sex-matched reference data.

Main Results:

  • Most boys with PDD were above the 50th percentile for height (70%), weight (74%), and BMI (80%).
  • 21% of PDD boys were classified as overweight, and 10% as clinically obese.
  • No significant differences in anthropometric measures were found between PDD subgroups.

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest a trend towards higher height, weight, and BMI in boys with PDD.
  • Further research is needed to validate these anthropometric findings in PDD.
  • This study highlights the importance of monitoring weight status in children with developmental disorders.
Abstract

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