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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on February 6, 2008
Age and Ageing 2008 37(3):311-317; doi:10.1093/ageing/afm197
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Copyright © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

A comparison of measured height and demi-span equivalent height in the assessment of body mass index among people aged 65 years and over in England

Vasant Hirani and Jennifer Mindell

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Address correspondence to: Vasant Hirani. Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 1727; Fax: +44 (0)20 7813 0280. Email: v.hirani{at}ucl.ac.uk

Objectives: to examine differences between measured height and demi-span equivalent height (DEH) among people aged ≥65 and investigate the impact on body mass index (BMI) of using DEH.

Design and Setting: nationally representative cross-sectional sample of adults living in England.

Participants: 3,346 non-institutionalised adults aged ≥65, taking part in the Health Survey for England (HSE) 2001.

Measurements: height, weight and demi-span measurements were taken according to standardised HSE protocols. DEH was calculated using Bassey's equation.

Results: the height measurement was lower than the DEH from age group 70–74 years onwards in men and in each age group in women. No significant differences in mean DEH and measured height were found for men (–0.46) or women (–2.64). BMI derived from measured height did not differ significantly from BMI derived from DEH. The prevalence of underweight was lower when using measured height than when using DEH in women aged ≥65, particularly in those aged 80 years and over. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher using measured height than DEH in women aged ≥65.

Conclusion: we confirmed in a large nationally representative sample that demi-span measurement may be a useful estimate of stature in people (particularly women) aged ≥65 for BMI calculations.

Keywords: demi-span, anthropometry, nutritional status, older people, population survey, elderly

Received 8 May 2007; accepted in revised form 31 October 2007.


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