title: Assessing the accuracy of two proxy measures for BMI in a semi-rural, low-resource setting in Guatemala.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Validation studies of self-reported BMI are limited to populations in high-income countries or urban settings. Here, we assess the accuracy of two proxy measures of measured height, weight and BMI - self-reported values and the Stunkard figure scale - in a semi-rural population in Guatemala.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported values and Stunkard figure selection were elicited prior to biometric measurements from a total of 175 non-pregnant women recruited based on a stratified random sample of households, with 92 women providing full data for validation across measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  86.3% of participants self-reported weight and 62.3% height. Among those responding, self-reported weight is highly accurate though lower relationships for height contribute to error in reported BMI. The Stunkard scale has a higher response rate (97.1%) and while less accurate in predicting BMI values, more accurately predicts BMI categories.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported measures are more accurate than the Stunkard scale in estimating BMI values, while the latter is more accurate in estimating BMI categories. High non-response rates and lower correlations between reported and measured height caution against using self-reported biometric data other than raw weight in low-resource settings.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA. jonathan.maupin@asu.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Maupin
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hruschka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult