Abstract
Background: Height and weight information is commonly used in clinical trials and in making therapeutic decisions in medical practice. In both settings, the data are often obtained by self-report. If erroneous, this practice could lead to inaccuracies in estimating renal function and medication doses or to inaccurate outcomes of research studies. Previous publications have reported lack of reliability of self-reported weight and height in the general population but have not addressed age-specific and ethnicity-specific subgroups in the U.S. population. The inaccuracy of self-reported weight and height could be particularly significant in times of considerable changes in body weight, such as at menopause, which is often associated with weight gain. Methods: We assessed the validity of self-reported height and weight in 428 women within the first 5 years of menopause, 70.6% of whom were Hispanic. Results: Participants overestimated their height by 2.2±3.5 cm (mean±standard deviation [SD]) and underestimated their weight by 1.5±2.9 kg. As a group, based on self-reported measures, 33.3% were misclassified with respect to body mass index (BMI) category, and the difference between measured BMI and self-reported BMI was similar between Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white women, positively related to measured weight, and inversely related to measured height, years from menopause, and multiple parity. Conclusions: From the public health perspective, inaccurate self-report could lead to a considerable underestimation of the current obesity prevalence rates. In our study population, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) was 6.3% based on self-reported values and 18% based on measured height and weight, representing a 3-fold underestimation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 599-604 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Women's Health |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2011 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Self-reported versus measured height and weight in hispanic and non-hispanic menopausal women. / Griebeler, Marcio L.; Levis, Silvina; Beringer, Laura Muñoz; Chacra, Walid; Gomez-Marin, Orlando W.
In: Journal of Women's Health, Vol. 20, No. 4, 01.04.2011, p. 599-604.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-reported versus measured height and weight in hispanic and non-hispanic menopausal women
AU - Griebeler, Marcio L.
AU - Levis, Silvina
AU - Beringer, Laura Muñoz
AU - Chacra, Walid
AU - Gomez-Marin, Orlando W
PY - 2011/4/1
Y1 - 2011/4/1
N2 - Background: Height and weight information is commonly used in clinical trials and in making therapeutic decisions in medical practice. In both settings, the data are often obtained by self-report. If erroneous, this practice could lead to inaccuracies in estimating renal function and medication doses or to inaccurate outcomes of research studies. Previous publications have reported lack of reliability of self-reported weight and height in the general population but have not addressed age-specific and ethnicity-specific subgroups in the U.S. population. The inaccuracy of self-reported weight and height could be particularly significant in times of considerable changes in body weight, such as at menopause, which is often associated with weight gain. Methods: We assessed the validity of self-reported height and weight in 428 women within the first 5 years of menopause, 70.6% of whom were Hispanic. Results: Participants overestimated their height by 2.2±3.5 cm (mean±standard deviation [SD]) and underestimated their weight by 1.5±2.9 kg. As a group, based on self-reported measures, 33.3% were misclassified with respect to body mass index (BMI) category, and the difference between measured BMI and self-reported BMI was similar between Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white women, positively related to measured weight, and inversely related to measured height, years from menopause, and multiple parity. Conclusions: From the public health perspective, inaccurate self-report could lead to a considerable underestimation of the current obesity prevalence rates. In our study population, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) was 6.3% based on self-reported values and 18% based on measured height and weight, representing a 3-fold underestimation.
AB - Background: Height and weight information is commonly used in clinical trials and in making therapeutic decisions in medical practice. In both settings, the data are often obtained by self-report. If erroneous, this practice could lead to inaccuracies in estimating renal function and medication doses or to inaccurate outcomes of research studies. Previous publications have reported lack of reliability of self-reported weight and height in the general population but have not addressed age-specific and ethnicity-specific subgroups in the U.S. population. The inaccuracy of self-reported weight and height could be particularly significant in times of considerable changes in body weight, such as at menopause, which is often associated with weight gain. Methods: We assessed the validity of self-reported height and weight in 428 women within the first 5 years of menopause, 70.6% of whom were Hispanic. Results: Participants overestimated their height by 2.2±3.5 cm (mean±standard deviation [SD]) and underestimated their weight by 1.5±2.9 kg. As a group, based on self-reported measures, 33.3% were misclassified with respect to body mass index (BMI) category, and the difference between measured BMI and self-reported BMI was similar between Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white women, positively related to measured weight, and inversely related to measured height, years from menopause, and multiple parity. Conclusions: From the public health perspective, inaccurate self-report could lead to a considerable underestimation of the current obesity prevalence rates. In our study population, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) was 6.3% based on self-reported values and 18% based on measured height and weight, representing a 3-fold underestimation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79954537829&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79954537829&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/jwh.2009.1850
DO - 10.1089/jwh.2009.1850
M3 - Article
C2 - 21413893
AN - SCOPUS:79954537829
VL - 20
SP - 599
EP - 604
JO - Journal of Women's Health
JF - Journal of Women's Health
SN - 1540-9996
IS - 4
ER -