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The accuracy of body weight and height recall in middle-aged men

International Journal of Obesity volume 24, pages 1695–1698 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of recalled height and weight, and calculated body mass index (BMI), over a 27–37 y period.

DESIGN: Comparison of measured height and weight with recalled height and weight 27–37 y later.

PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and twenty-five men measured aged 18–24 y as physical education students at Loughborough Training College, UK, between 1958 and 1967.

RESULTS: Initial body weights were over-estimated by 3.1±4.5 kg and heights by 1.1±1.8 cm, on average. Some 42% (95) of recalls were within 2.5 kg and 79% (178) within 2.5 cm, resulting in 58% (130) of the differences in BMI calculated from recalled and actual heights and weights to be within 1 kg/m2. However, 29% (66) of recalls were more than 5 kg and 8% (19) more than 10 kg from the measured values. Weight errors (actual−recalled) were negatively related (r=−0.43, P<0.001) to weight gain over the 27–37 y interval.

CONCLUSIONS: Middle-aged men who were formerly physical education students recalled their previous height and weight well, in most cases, 27–37 y later. The bias from recalled data would be to underestimate weight gain by 3 kg and BMI by 1 kg/m2, on average. Errors of more than 5 kg in 29% of participants and of more than 10 kg in 8% would be expected to interfere seriously with attempts to show epidemiological relations between early weight based on recall and subsequent outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Department of Physical Education, Sports Science and Recreation Management, Loughborough University for making the original data available, Catherine Townsend and Data Preparation Unit, Loughborough University for data entry, and all the respondents who participated in the research. The study was funded by the Research Committee of Loughborough University.

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  1. Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    NG Norgan & N Cameron

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  1. NG Norgan
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  2. N Cameron
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Correspondence to NG Norgan.

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Norgan, N., Cameron, N. The accuracy of body weight and height recall in middle-aged men. Int J Obes 24, 1695–1698 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801463

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