Main Body
Introduction to Anthropometric Body Measurement Assessments
Anthropometric body measurements are non-invasive and quantitative measurements related to body size and . Examples of measurements discussed in this chapter include: height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio.
It is important to first note that these measurements are not diagnostic tools and should never be used alone in assessing a person’s health. Anthropometric body measurements are important in healthcare and are assessed and evaluated for several reasons:
- Broadly speaking, these measurements can provide information about a client’s state of health, nutritional status, and help evaluate risks associated with certain diseases.
- In particular, these measurements help determine a client’s growth throughout the lifespan (e.g., development and patterns) and potential growth problems such as growth delays in children.
- In primary care or long-term care, these measurements help evaluate over time such as weight loss or weight gain or height loss associated with aging and disease processes.
- In acute care and also with chronic illnesses, weight measurements can provide information about fluid gain and fluid loss and are also important in relation to the calculation of certain medication dosages particularly with children.
- Sometimes, it is important to elicit a baseline weight which is then reassessed at each healthcare visit and in certain cases, daily.
In this chapter, we will problematize anthropometric body measurements and discuss an inclusive approach
Contextualizing Inclusivity
The dominant discourse about health and well-being in nursing and medicine is one that focuses on weight-centred discussions (O’Hara & Taylor, 2018). And yet, these discussions negate a myriad of factors related to health and well-being. Additionally, it has been found that dieting is a strong predictor of weight gain (O’Hara & Taylor, 2018). Thus, we need to shift these discussions so that they are focused on health and well-being, the social determinants of health, and factors contributing to (O’Hara & Taylor, 2018).
Clinical Tips
The limitation of one-time body measurement assessments is that they are restricted to one point in time. It is best to consider trends in body measurements across a period of time.
References
O’Hara, L., & Taylor, J. (2018). What’s wrong with the ‘war on obesity?’ A narrative review of the weight-centered health paradigm and development of the 3C Framework to build critical competency for a paradigm shift. Sage Open, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/215824401877
Public Health Ontario (2023). Health equity. https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Health-Topics/Health-Equity
World Health Organization (2023). Health equity. https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-equity#tab=tab_1
refers to fat tissue.
are general directions/changes over time (e.g., weight loss or weight gain).
is when all individuals have fair access to resources that they need and fair opportunity to reach their full potential and optimal health and well-being (Public Health Ontario, 2023; WHO, 2023).
