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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Discrepancies between self-reporting and anthropometric measurements among middle aged and older adults in Japan:
Mayumi Ohnishi1, Rieko Nakao1, Satoko Kosaka1
1Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Japan.
Abstract:
Objective: This study evaluated self-reported height and weight and discuss factors associated with data discrepancies between questionnaire surveys and actual measurements obtained health checkups. Patients and Methods: Data on sex, age, height, and weight of participants aged 40-74 years from the Nagasaki Prefectural Citizens' Health Survey 2020 and 2021 and National Health Insurance (Kokuho) database (KDB data) were used. A total of 5,951 participants with height and weight data from the questionnaire (self-reporting) and KDB data (measurement) were analyzed. Results: The difference between reported and measured height was within 1 cm, and that of weight was within 1 kg for 2,006 (49.4%) respondents. By contrast, 1,163 (19.5%) respondents showed greater discrepancies in both height and weight. Individuals with higher body mass index (BMI) generally underreported their weight. Men and older adults tended to overreport their height. Men also underreported height and weight compared to measured values. Conclusion: Considering not only underreporting of weight among people with a higher BMI, but also overreporting of weight among those with a lower BMI is necessary. Appropriate health guidance requires education based on accurate assessments by obtaining actual measurements rather than relying solely on self-reported height and weight data.
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