Accuracy of Self‐Reported Height and Weight in Women: An Integrative Review of the Literature
- 10 September 2003
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health
- Vol. 48 (5), 338-345
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s1526-9523(03)00281-2
Abstract
Height and weight are two of the most commonly used anthropometric measurements in clinical practice and research. Self-reported height and weight measurement is a simple, efficient, inexpensive, and non-invasive method of collecting data from large numbers of people. This integrative review of the published research examined the accuracy of self-reported height and weight measurements in women. Twenty-six studies examined the accuracy of self-reported height in 39,244 women. Twenty-one of the studies found that women overestimate height. Thirty-four studies reviewed the accuracy of self-reported weight in 57,172 women, and all 34 studies reported that women underestimated weight. Although mean variations between self-reported and measured values were small, a significant percentage of women in study groups had very large errors. Inaccurate measurements of both height and weight can cause significant inaccuracies in calculation of body mass index, which is used as a guide for identifying persons at risk for disease. These findings indicate that direct measurement of height and weight should be performed whenever possible for optimal measurements in clinical practice and clinically oriented research.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- Self-reported weight and height: Implications for obesity researchAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001
- Effects of Age on Validity of Self-Reported Height, Weight, and Body Mass IndexJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 2001
- Validity of self-reported weight and height in the French GAZEL cohortInternational Journal of Obesity, 2000
- Social desirability and self-reported weight and heightInternational Journal of Obesity, 2000
- Measuring UpAWHONN Lifelines, 2000
- Inaccurate Estimation of Body Weight Prior to Smoking Cessation: Implications for Quitting and Weight GainJournal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 1999
- Can self-estimates of body weight and height be used in place of measurements for college students?Ergonomics, 1996
- Body Mass Definitions of ObesityEpidemiology, 1990
- One-year follow-up study to a worksite weight control programPreventive Medicine, 1988
- The reliability and validity of self-reported weight and heightJournal of Chronic Diseases, 1982