Reliability of self-reported body height and weight of adult Japanese women

The purpose of this study was to validate the self-reported body height and weight of adult Japanese women. The subjects were women, aged 20-42 years, who participated in a survey on eating disorders in women in 1995. Physically measured height and weight data were obtained for 368 (89.8%) of the 469 women who self-reported their height and weight. The report-based heights and weights were compared with the measured values. The correlation coefficients for height and weight were 0.990 and 0.963 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Mean reported height was 0.1 cm shorter and mean reported weight 0.2 kg lighter than the measured values. Shorter women tended to report a taller height than their actual height, and heavier women to report a lower weight than their actual weight. Despite these limitations, the self-reported heights and weights of adult Japanese women were precise and accurate, and their use in epidemiological surveys is considered acceptable.     

The Bias in Self‐reported Obesity From 1976 to 2005: A Canada–US Comparison

The objective of this study was to determine whether the bias in self‐reported estimates of obesity has changed over time and followed different patterns in Canada and the United States. Using age‐standardized data from three waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the Canadian Heart Health Survey (CHHS) in Canada, discrepancies were compared between reported and measured estimates of height, weight, and obesity (based on the BMI) from 1976 to 2005. Results indicated that obesity increased in both countries, but rates were higher in the United States. The discrepancy between self‐reported and measured obesity was small in the United States with reported data underestimating measured prevalence by about 3%; this stayed relatively constant over time. In Canada, the discrepancy was large and doubled in the past decade (from 4 to 8%). In the United States, self‐reported data may be more accurate in monitoring changes in obesity over time, as the estimates have consistently remained about 3% below the measured estimates, whereas in Canada, monitoring obesity based solely on self‐reported height and weight may produce inaccurate estimates because of the increasing discrepancy between self‐reported and measured data.     

Adjusting body mass for measurement error with invalid validation data

We propose a new method for using validation data to correct self-reported weight and height in surveys that do not measure respondents. The standard correction in prior research regresses actual measures on reported values using an external validation dataset, and then uses the estimated coefficients to predict actual measures in the primary dataset. This approach requires the strong assumption that the expectations of measured weight and height conditional on the reported values are the same in both datasets. In contrast, we use percentile ranks rather than levels of reported weight and height. Our approach requires the weaker assumption that the conditional expectations of actual measures are increasing in reported values in both samples. This makes our correction more robust to differences in measurement error across surveys as long as both surveys represent the same population. We examine three nationally representative datasets and find that misreporting appears to be sensitive to differences in survey context. When we compare predicted BMI distributions using the two validation approaches, we find that the standard correction is affected by differences in misreporting while our correction is not. Finally, we present several examples that demonstrate the potential importance of our correction for future econometric analyses and estimates of obesity rates.     

Childhood Overweight Prevalence in the United States: The Impact of Parent‐reported Height and Weight

Parent‐reported height and weight are often used to estimate BMI and overweight status among children. The quality of parent‐reported data has not been compared to measured data on a national scale for all race/ethnic groups in the United States. Parent‐reported height and weight for 2–17‐year‐old children in two national health interview surveys—the 1999–2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the 2003–2004 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH)—were compared to measured values from a national examination survey—the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Compared to measured data, parent‐reported data overestimated childhood overweight in both interview surveys. For example, overweight prevalence among 2–17‐year‐olds was 25% (s.e. 0.2) using parent‐reported NHIS data vs. 16% (s.e. 0.6) using measured NHANES data. Parent‐reported data overestimated overweight among younger children, but underestimated overweight among older children. The discrepancy between reported and measured estimates arose mainly from reported height among very young children. For children aged 2–11 years, the mean reported height from NHIS was 3–6 cm less than mean measured height from NHANES (P < 0.001) vs. no difference among children aged 16–17 years. Measured data remains the gold standard for surveillance of childhood overweight. Although this analysis compared mean values from survey populations rather than parent‐reported and measured data for individuals, the results from nationally representative data reinforce previous recommendations based on small samples that parent‐reported data should not be used to estimate overweight prevalence among preschool and elementary school–aged children.     

Tracking variability: recent anthropometric data for croatian population and comparison with other world populations

The variability that exists within the populations of individual countries and the variability that exists between the populations of different countries are both of interest in practical application. For these reasons, a comparison is made in this work between certain anthropometric variables of our sample of Croatian population and anthropometric variables that are available for other human populations in the world of the same or a similar age. The total sample was 1,372 subjects aged from 23 to 59 years old. For the purpose of comparison, data were taken from the study "International Data on Anthropometry" which provides an overview of anthropometric variables for many world populations, as well as data from Rudan's research that was carried out on Croatian population in the late seventies of the last century. Mean value, standard deviation and coefficient of variation have been calculated for every measured parameter. A comparison between the two research samples of Croatian population fairly displays up going trend, for body mass and other bodily dimensions, formed in three decades of difference. Mean value for body height in Rudan's sample is 161.0 cm, and for Bubas's sample in this research was 170.6 cm, both values state for Croatian population but with difference of more than 30 years. Human biologists use term "secular trend" to describe alterations in the measurable characteristics of a population of humans that occur over a century. Accordingly, in adult age, the rate of gain, concerning body height, is 10 to 30 mm per decade. The changes in body proportions during recent decades are less marked than those in body size, but the relationships between stature and weight within one national group have changed significantly.     

The validity of obesity based on self-reported weight and height: Implications for population studies

Objective: To validate self‐reported information on weight and height in an adult population and to find a useful algorithm to assess the prevalence of obesity based on self‐reported information. Research Methods and Procedures: This was a cross‐sectional survey consisting of 1703 participants (860 men and 843 women, 30 to 75 years old) conducted in the community of Vara, Sweden, from 2001 to 2003. Self‐reported weight, height, and corresponding BMI were compared with measured data. Obesity was defined as measured BMI ≥ 30 kg/m². Information on education, self‐rated health, smoking habits, and physical activity during leisure time was collected by a self‐administered questionnaire. Results: Mean differences between measured and self‐reported weight were 1.6 kg (95% confidence interval, 1.4; 1.8) in men and 1.8 kg (1.6; 2.0) in women (measured higher), whereas corresponding differences in height were ?0.3 cm (?0.5; ?0.2) in men and ?0.4 cm (?0.5; ?0.2) in women (measured lower). Age and body size were important factors for misreporting height, weight, and BMI in both men and women. Obesity (measured) was found in 156 men (19%) and 184 women (25%) and with self‐reported data in 114 men (14%) and 153 women (20%). For self‐reported data, the sensitivity of obesity was 70% in men and 82% in women, and when adjusted for corrected self‐reported data and age, it increased to 81% and 90%, whereas the specificity decreased from 99% in both sexes to 97% in men and 98% in women. Discussion: The prevalence of obesity based on self‐reported BMI can be estimated more accurately when using an algorithm adjusted for variables that are predictive for misreporting.     

Accuracy of Self‐reported Weight and Height in Binge Eating Disorder: Misreport Is Not Related to Psychological Factors

This study examined the degree of misreport in weight, height, and BMI among overweight adults (n = 392) with binge eating disorder (BED) and tested whether the degree of misreport was associated with eating disorder psychopathology and psychological variables. Male (n = 97) and female (n = 295) participants self‐reported height and weight, and were subsequently measured by clinic staff. Participants also completed a series of diagnostic interviews and self‐report assessments. Discrepancies between self‐reported and measured values were modest. The degree of misreport for weight, height, and BMI was not related to eating disorder features, depression, and self‐esteem. Overall, the errors in self‐reported weight and height by overweight patients with BED were very slight. The degree of discrepancy between self‐reported and measured values was not related to eating disorder or psychological features, suggesting that such data are not biased or systematically related to individual differences in overweight patients with BED.     

Child growth and adult physique in Brazillan Xingu Indians

Data on stature, sitting height, biacromial width, and some other body measurements on 267 children and 363 adults of the Xingu Indians of Brazil have been analyzed. Adult height shows no significant decrease with age over an age range of 20–50 years, thus indicating the absence of secular changes. The average Xingu child seems to be around the twenty-fifth to fiftieth centile for height of British children (if our age estimates are correct) until about ten years in girls and 14 years in boys, but ends at below the third British centile as an adult. In sitting height, however, the Indians show substantially lower values, with children being at about the fifteenth centile until ten years in girls and 14 years in boys, while the adults are considerably below the British third centile. Other comparisons show that the Xingu are taller than Surinam Indians although of similar shoulder width. The lack of anthropometric data concerning South American Indian adults, and more especially children has been stressed. Investigations of these populations facing rapid acculturation and possible assimilation will form a baseline for the future work in public health as contacts with non-Indians increase.     

Cross-sectional changes in anthropometric variables among Wapishana and Patamona Amerindian adults

Although anthropometric information on South American Indian populations has been collected for many years, remarkably little is known about age-related changes in their body size in adulthood. The lack of baseline information on the normal pattern of aging among Amerindian adults hinders investigations into the health consequences of the many economic, environmental and demographic changes that are currently occurring among South American Indian populations. This study presents data on the body size and shape of a convenience sample of 345 Patamona and 186 Wapishana Amerindian adults over 20 years of age living in the remote interior of Guyana. Analysis of the cross-sectional data demonstrated significant declines in stature, sitting height, and biacromial width with age, while there were no changes in subischial leg length or arm length across the age range of the study populations. In contrast, body weight and body mass index (BMI--a measure of body fatness) only declined in those over 50 years of age, after a period of increase. Significant differences in adult linear body dimensions were found between the two Amerindian populations that were proposed to be the result of known differences in childhood growth performance. However, the greater BMI of the Wapishana was shown to be associated with their significantly greater current wealth, thereby highlighting the presence of biological consequences of wealth inequalities even within these subsistence farming populations.     

The heights of French-Canadian convicts, 1780s–1820s

This paper uses a novel dataset of heights collected from the records of the Quebec City prison between 1813 and 1847 to survey the French-Canadian population of Quebec—which was then known either as Lower Canada or Canada East. Using a birth-cohort approach with 10 year birth cohorts from the 1780s to the 1820s, we find that French-Canadian prisoners grew shorter over the period. Through the whole sample period, they were short compared to Americans. However, French-Canadians were taller either than their cousins in France or the inhabitants of Latin America (except Argentinians). In addition to extending anthropometric data in Canada to the 1780s, we are able to extend comparisons between the Old and New Worlds as well as comparisons between North America and Latin America. We highlight the key structural economic changes and shocks and discuss their possible impact on the anthropometric data.     

Body build structure of neonates

The paper presents anthropometric data on 292 healthy neonates delivered of normal births at the Women's Hospital of Tartu University (150 boys and 142 girls). The parameters of the neonates' physical development measured included height, weight, sitting height, length of sternum and abdomen, shoulder width, upper and lower width and depth of thorax, width and depth of abdomen, D. cristarum, D. trochanterica, pelvic depth, 12 circumferences, foot length and two skinfolds (on abdomen and back). The mean weight of a neonate was 3620.5 g±448.7 g (minimum 2400 g and maximum 4854 g). Boys were somewhat heavier than girls (3684.7 g and 3551.3 g respectively). The average height of the infants was 49.9 cm±1.9 cm (minimum 44 cm and maximum 54.5 cm). Correlation analysis of the characteristics showed that body structure is a system of wellcorrelated anthropometric measurements where the leading role belongs to height and weight. The changes in the relation between height and weight (height-weight classification in 3×3SD classes) cause systemic changes in other measurements. Therefore, in further micropaediatric and clinical research, the height-weight classification could be used as the primary model of the body as a whole.     

Body composition and fat distribution pattern of urban elderly females, Delhi, India

The present study was conducted on females (n = 279) in the age range of 51-89 year, living in the urban dwellings of Delhi, India. Another group of 21-25 years old young adult females was taken as a control group. A total of 14 anthropometric measurements were taken: stature, sitting height, weight, skinfold thickness at nine different sites over the body and body girths such as upper arm, waist and hip circumference. Indices like body mass index, grand mean thickness, waist-hip ratio were computed to assess the body composition. Fat profile and responsiveness of different skinfold sites towards fat accumulation were studied to find out the regional fat distribution with advancing age. Redistribution of body fat was found to take place with increasing age. A relative preponderance of upper body fat was visible among elderly subjects. However, a clear reverse trend was observed in the young control group females. Significant differences were observed with regards to the body composition and fat profile between young adult females and test group females. Abdomen and the sub-scapular area were reported to be the most sensitive sites for fat deposition as the age advanced. The stature and sitting height showed significant decline with age. All the indices of adiposity i.e. grand mean thickness, waist-hip ratio and body mass index revealed significant changes in elderly females when compared with young adult control group females.     

Changes in perceived weight discrimination among Americans, 1995-1996 through 2004-2006

Objective: Little is known about the prevalence and patterns of weight discrimination in the United States. This study examined the trends in perceived weight/height discrimination among a nationally representative sample of adults aged 35–74 years, comparing experiences of discrimination based on race, age, and gender. Methods and Procedures: Data were from the two waves of the National Survey of Midlife Developmentin the United States (MIDUS), a survey of community‐based English‐speaking adults initially in 1995–1996 and a follow‐up in 2004– 2006. Reported experiences of weight/height discrimination included a variety of settings in major lifetime events and interpersonal relationships. Results: The prevalence of weight/height discrimination increased from 7% in 1995–1996 to 12% in 2004–2006, affecting all population groups but the elderly. This growth is unlikely to be explained by changes in obesity rates. Discussion: Weight/height discrimination is highly prevalent in American society and increasing at disturbing rates. Its prevalence is relatively close to reported rates of race and age discrimination, but virtually no legal or social sanctions against weight discrimination exist.     

The geographic distribution of obesity in the US and the potential regional differences in misreporting of obesity

Objective: State‐level estimates of obesity based on self‐reported height and weight suggest a geographic pattern of greater obesity in the Southeastern US; however, the reliability of the ranking among these estimates assumes errors in self‐reporting of height and weight are unrelated to geographic region. Design and Methods: Regional and state‐level prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg m^?2) for non‐Hispanic black and white participants aged 45 and over were estimated from multiple sources: ( 1 ) self‐reported from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system (BRFSS 2003‐2006) (n = 677,425), ( 2 ) self‐reported and direct measures from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES 2003‐2008) (n = 6,615 and 6,138, respectively), and ( 3 ) direct measures from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS 2003‐2007) study (n = 30,239). Results: Data from BRFSS suggest that the highest prevalence of obesity is in the East South Central Census division; however, direct measures suggest higher prevalence in the West North Central and East North Central Census divisions. The regions relative ranking of obesity prevalence differs substantially between self‐reported and directly measured height and weight. Conclusions: Geographic patterns in the prevalence of obesity based on self‐reported height and weight may be misleading, and have implications for current policy proposals.     

Is inconsistent reporting of self-assessed health persistent and systematic? Evidence from the UKHLS

In this paper, we investigate whether individuals provide consistent responses to self-assessed health (SAH) questions in the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), and the potential implications for empirical research in case of inconsistent reporting behaviour. We capitalise on an opportunity in the UKHLS, asking respondents the same SAH question twice: with a self-completion and an open interview mode, within the same household interview over four waves. We estimate multivariate models to explore which individual characteristics are systematically relevant for the likelihood and frequency of inconsistent reporting. About 11–24% of those reported a particular SAH category in the self-completion reported inconsistently in the open interview. The probability of inconsistency is systematically associated with individual’s demographics, education, income, employment status, cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The same characteristics also predict the frequency of inconsistent reporting across four UKHLS waves. Analysis of the implications of reporting inconsistencies shows no impact of SAH measurement on the association between income and health. A set of dimensions of people’s physiological and biological health, captured using biomarkers, is associated equally with both SAH measures, suggesting that the interview mode does not play a role in the relationship between SAH and more objective health measures.     

Outlier Removal and the Relation with Reporting Errors and Quality of Psychological Research

Background

The removal of outliers to acquire a significant result is a questionable research practice that appears to be commonly used in psychology. In this study, we investigated whether the removal of outliers in psychology papers is related to weaker evidence (against the null hypothesis of no effect), a higher prevalence of reporting errors, and smaller sample sizes in these papers compared to papers in the same journals that did not report the exclusion of outliers from the analyses.

Methods and Findings

We retrieved a total of 2667 statistical results of null hypothesis significance tests from 153 articles in main psychology journals, and compared results from articles in which outliers were removed (N = 92) with results from articles that reported no exclusion of outliers (N = 61). We preregistered our hypotheses and methods and analyzed the data at the level of articles. Results show no significant difference between the two types of articles in median p value, sample sizes, or prevalence of all reporting errors, large reporting errors, and reporting errors that concerned the statistical significance. However, we did find a discrepancy between the reported degrees of freedom of t tests and the reported sample size in 41% of articles that did not report removal of any data values. This suggests common failure to report data exclusions (or missingness) in psychological articles.

Conclusions

We failed to find that the removal of outliers from the analysis in psychological articles was related to weaker evidence (against the null hypothesis of no effect), sample size, or the prevalence of errors. However, our control sample might be contaminated due to nondisclosure of excluded values in articles that did not report exclusion of outliers. Results therefore highlight the importance of more transparent reporting of statistical analyses.     

Genome-wide association study of anthropometric traits and evidence of interactions with age and study year in Filipino women

Increased values of multiple adiposity-related anthropometric traits are important risk factors for many common complex diseases. We performed a genome-wide association (GWA) study for four quantitative traits related to body size and adiposity (BMI, weight, waist circumference, and height) in a cohort of 1,792 adult Filipino women from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS). This is the first GWA study of anthropometric traits in Filipinos, a population experiencing a rapid transition into a more obesogenic environment. In addition to identifying suggestive evidence of additional single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association signals (P < 10(-5)), we replicated (P < 0.05, same direction of additive effect) associations previously reported in European populations of both BMI and weight with MC4R and FTO, of BMI with BDNF, and of height with EFEMP1, ZBTB38, and NPPC, but none with waist circumference. We also replicated loci reported in Japanese or Korean populations as associated with BMI (OTOL1) and height (HIST1H1PS2, C14orf145, GPC5). A difference in local linkage disequilibrium (LD) between European and Asian populations suggests a narrowed association region for BDNF, while still including a proposed functional nonsynonymous amino acid substitution variant (rs6265, Val66Met). Finally, we observed significant evidence (P < 0.0042) for age-by-genotype interactions influencing BMI for rs17782313 (MC4R) and rs9939609 (FTO), and for a study year-by-genotype interaction for rs4923461 (BDNF). Our results show that several genetic risk factors are associated with anthropometric traits in Filipinos and provide further insight into the effects of BDNF, FTO, and MC4R on BMI.     

Adult obesity does not predict 6-year weight gain in men: the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study

Objective: To determine the longitudinal relation between history of adult obesity and the 6‐year trajectory of weight change in men. Research Methods and Procedures: Subjects were healthy, affluent men (n = 761) between the ages of 20 and 78 years who completed at least four comprehensive medical exams at the Cooper Clinic between 1987 and 2003. Maximum adult weight was reported, and current height was measured at baseline. Body weight and cardiorespiratory fitness were measured at all examinations. Adult obesity status was determined from self‐reported maximum weight and measured height at baseline as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m². Weight at all examinations was regressed on a history of adult obesity using linear mixed effects modeling. Results: At baseline, men reporting a history of adult obesity were significantly heavier than men reporting no such history (BMI 29.8 vs. 25.0 kg/m²; p < 0.05). However, the rate of weight gain among men with a history of obesity was slower than among men without a history of adult obesity (0.04 vs. 0.18 kg/yr; p = 0.09), although this difference was only marginally significant. Fitness modulated the relationship between history of obesity and weight change over time, and both higher levels of fitness and greater frequency of dieting were associated with attenuated weight gain. In contrast, chronic disease and depression were associated with accelerated weight gain. Discussion: Although a history of obesity was associated with higher weight, it did not seem to result in accelerated weight gain over time. Additionally, dieting and fitness were important for minimizing weight gain.