Dressed or undressed? How to measure children's body weight in overweight surveillance?
OBJECTIVE
To simplify body weight measurement and, particularly, to encourage children and their parents to participate in the Italian nutritional surveillance system OKkio alla SALUTE, children were measured with clothes and then the weight was corrected for the estimated weight of the clothes. In the present study we compared the children's weight measured in underwear, as recommended by the WHO (WWHO), with that obtained using the OKkio alla SALUTE protocol (WOK) and investigated how the latter affects the calculation of BMI and the assessment of overweight and obesity prevalence.


METHODS
Weight (twice in close sequence, with and without clothing) and height were measured. A checklist was used to describe the type of clothing worn. The estimated weight of clothing was subtracted from the WOK. BMI was calculated considering both values of weight and height; ponderal status was defined using both the International Obesity Task Force and WHO BMI cut-offs.


METHODS
Thirty-seven third grade classes of thirteen primary schools in Rome and in two towns in the Lazio Region were recruited.


METHODS
The anthropometric measurements were taken on 524 children aged 8-9 years.


RESULTS
The error in the calculation of BMI from WOK was very low, 0·005 kg/m2 (95 % CI -0·185, 0·195 kg/m2); the agreement between the percentages of overweight (not including obesity) and obese children calculated with the two methods was very close to 1 (κ = 0·98).


CONCLUSIONS
The error in BMI and in nutritional classification can be considered minor in a surveillance system for monitoring overweight/obesity, but eases the procedure for measuring children.
1Agricultural Research Council,Food and Nutrition Research Centre (CRA-NUT),Via Ardeatina 546,00178 Rome,Italy.
Laura
L
Censi
2National Centre for Epidemiology,Surveillance and Health Promotion,National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità),Rome,Italy.
Angela
A
Spinelli
1Agricultural Research Council,Food and Nutrition Research Centre (CRA-NUT),Via Ardeatina 546,00178 Rome,Italy.
Romana
R
Roccaldo
1Agricultural Research Council,Food and Nutrition Research Centre (CRA-NUT),Via Ardeatina 546,00178 Rome,Italy.
Noemi
N
Bevilacqua
2National Centre for Epidemiology,Surveillance and Health Promotion,National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità),Rome,Italy.
Anna
A
Lamberti
1Agricultural Research Council,Food and Nutrition Research Centre (CRA-NUT),Via Ardeatina 546,00178 Rome,Italy.
Veronica
V
Angelini
2National Centre for Epidemiology,Surveillance and Health Promotion,National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità),Rome,Italy.
Paola
P
Nardone
2National Centre for Epidemiology,Surveillance and Health Promotion,National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità),Rome,Italy.
Giovanni
G
Baglio
D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003020:Clothing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D050177:Overweight; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012016:Reference Values; D012384:Rome; D012574:Schools