Anthropometric measures are a collection of quantitative measurements of muscle, bone, and

adipose tissue used to determine the structure of the body. The core elements of anthropometry
are height, weight, body mass index (BMI), body circumference (the waist, hip, and limb) and
skinfold thickness. Such measures are important as they provide diagnostic criteria for obesity,
which greatly increases the risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension,
diabetes mellitus, and many more. It is also useful as a measure of nutritional status in children
and pregnant women. In addition, anthropometric scales can be used as a benchmark for
physical fitness and to assess fitness improvement.

Challenges:

Anthropometric measurements are a non-invasive, low-cost and effective tool for determining
nutritional status in population studies with relatively large sample sizes. However,
anthropometric methods are prone to errors that could occur, for example, from insufficient staff
training. Despite offering many benefits (low cost, easy to perform, little equipment required),
anthropometric techniques can be problematic due to their sensitivity to measurement errors
and lack of accuracy. Unreliability can be broken down into two components: 1) imprecision,
referring to the variance of the measurement error due to intra-and inter-observer variability; or
2) unreliability, a feature of physiological variation, such as biological factors, which may affect
the reproducibility of the measurement. Imprecision may arise from insufficient or inappropriate
training of staff, difficulties in measuring such anthropometric characteristics, such as skin folds,
and instrumental or technical errors. Imprecision may be particularly problematic in broad
epidemiological studies requiring multiple participants or hiring professional anthropometrics.

Issues:

Four issues relating to the use and interpretation of anthropometry are discussed at the
population and individual levels. The first issue is the index or index of choice: weight-for-height
versus height-for-age versus weight-for-age. The selection of an index or indices depends on a
number of factors, and no single index is fully adequate in all situations. Proposed guidelines
are given for determining the extent of low anthropometry within populations. The second issue
is the size of the index: z-scores (or standard deviations) vs. percentiles vs. percentiles. Z-
Scores have a number of properties that make them superior to the other two levels. The third
issue deals with the drawbacks of the current growth comparison; one of these is the difference
between the growth curves at 2 years of age arising from the use of two different populations in
the sample. It is crucial that researchers consider this difference in such a way that
anthropometric results are accurately interpreted for this age range. Ultimately, there are some
issues related to the collection of single versus multiple anthropometric measurements for kids.

Updates:

Anthropometric information from children is essential for the development of goods and the
promulgation of safety standards. The last significant detailed study of child anthropometry in
the USA was carried out more than 30 years ago. Subsequent demographic changes and the
growing prevalence of overweight and obesity are making these data progressively redundant.
Current, large-scale anthropometric surveys are required. As an interim step, a current
anthropometric synthesis technique was used to create a virtual population of modern children,
each represented in 84 anthropometric measures. A subset of these data has been validated
against restricted modern data. Comparisons with the 1970s showed significant improvements
in the size and circumference of the chest, arms and legs. Measurements of the length and
weight of the head, face, hands and feet showed no improvement. The new virtual population
provides guidance for a comprehensive survey of child anthropometry and could improve safety
and accommodation in product design.

References:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-anthropometric-measurement-tools-purpose-
methods.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2988008/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2988008/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537315/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140139.2014.1000392