[Development, adaptation and validation of silhouette scales for self-assessment of nutritional status: a systematic...

Self-assessment of body image is a multidimensional construction by which individuals describe the internal representations of their body structure and physical appearance in relation to themselves and others. Silhouette scales have been used to for self-assessment of nutritional status, due to their low cost and ease of administration, especially in field surveys. This study aimed to identify the various silhouette scales that have been developed or adapted since 1983 and to conduct a systematic review of the validation of such scales against objective measures of nutritional status. A total of 33 publications were found and showed moderate to good correlation between nutritional status and both adapted (0.66 to 0.87) and developed silhouette scales (0.59 to 0.94) in adults, but much lower correlation in children and adolescents. Most of the studies used inappropriate statistical analysis. The data indicated that silhouette scales should be used with caution to predict nutritional status with or without anthropometric measures.