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The site is secure. NCBI Bookshelf. Kyle Casadei ; John Kiel. Authors Kyle Casadei 1 ; John Kiel 2. Anthropometric measurements are noninvasive quantitative measurements of the body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , anthropometry provides a valuable assessment of nutritional status in children and adults. Growth measurements and normal growth patterns are the gold standards by which clinicians assess the health and well-being of a child.
These measurements can also determine adult body composition to help determine underlying nutritional status and diagnose obesity. The core elements of anthropometry are height, weight, head circumference, body mass index BMI , body circumferences to assess for adiposity waist, hip, and limbs , and skinfold thickness. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Health and Disability Prevention CHDP Program Health Assessment Guidelines guideline 4 , accurate serial anthropometric measurements can help identify children's underlying medical, nutritional, or social problems.
Abnormal anthropometric measurements, especially in the pediatric population, warrant further evaluation. Anthropometric measurements can also assess body composition in athletes; this has been shown to optimize athletes' competitive performance and help identify underlying medical problems, such as eating disorders. Anthropometry-driven fitness programs in athletes have been shown to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and strength. The CHDP Program Health Assessment Guidelines guideline 4 recommend anthropometric measurements in all children and adolescents at each preventive visit to ensure adequate growth patterns and to assess the risk of obesity.
Accurate serial measurements over time are the most important aspect of anthropometry. Solitary deviations from a growth pattern curve can be a normal variant or due to an acute illness. However, according to the CHDP guidelines, steady change of the growth curve on serial measurements is a reliable indicator of an abnormal growth pattern and warrants further workup.
