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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

Monitoring height and weight: findings from a developmental paediatric service

Tess Lionti1, Susan M Reid, Dinah Reddihough

  • 1Royal Children's Hospital, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|May 25, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Monitoring children with disabilities

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Accurate anthropometric measurements are crucial for assessing the health and nutritional status of children.
  • Children with disabilities may have unique challenges in growth monitoring, potentially leading to increased risks of underweight or overweight.
  • Suboptimal recording of weight and height can hinder early identification of growth issues in this vulnerable population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the completeness of weight and height measurements in children with disabilities.
  • To identify specific subgroups of children with disabilities who are at higher risk for being underweight or overweight.
  • To explore barriers to accurate anthropometric data collection in this population.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective clinical audit was conducted at a tertiary pediatric hospital.
  • Data on weight, height, medical diagnosis, age, gender, feeding method, and ambulation were collected from 583 children's medical records.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated and age- and gender-corrected; barriers to measurement were also surveyed.

Main Results:

  • Body Mass Index (BMI) could be calculated for only 48% of the study sample.
  • Height measurement was less frequent in children with severe physical impairments due to practical difficulties.
  • 26.6% of children were overweight/obese, associated with intellectual disabilities and impaired ambulation; 13.5% were underweight, primarily non-ambulant children.

Conclusions:

  • Significant rates of underweight and overweight were found in children with disabilities, yet weight status monitoring was suboptimal.
  • Specific subgroups, including those with intellectual disabilities, impaired ambulation, and non-ambulant children, are at increased risk for abnormal weight status.
  • Alternative anthropometric measures like waist circumference should be considered when height measurement is not feasible for children with disabilities.
Abstract

Keywords:
Prader-Willi syndromecerebral palsygrowthintellectual disabilityobesityunderweight

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