Anthropometric standardization in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific: The Children’S Healthy Living Program (1024.6)

Abstract

Measurement standardization is essential for obtaining accurate and reliable data in multicenter sites. The purpose of this report is to describe anthropometric standardization findings from the Children’s Healthy Living Program (CHL). CHL is a multicenter study on childhood obesity in the US Affiliated Pacific: Alaska, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Freely Associated States of Micronesia, Guam and Hawaii. The Zerfas criteria (1) were used to compare the measurements between each trainee and a single expert. From Sept 2012 to Oct 2013, 74 staff participated in at least one of 26 training and standardization sessions. The percentages of trainees who failed (weight, height, waist, respectively) at the first training were: 23%, 58%, 80% (standard Zerfas criteria, SZ) and 7%, 23%, and 51% (alternate Zerfas criteria, AZ). Among the 74 staff, 46 had a second training, of which failure rates of weight, height, waist at the first session were 30% , 65%, and 87% (SZ) and 7% , 26% , and 63% (AZ) and at the second session were 7%, 50%, 80% (SZ), and 2%, 9% and 37% (AZ), respectively. 19 staff had 3 or more trainings. The SZ criteria were difficult to pass; however staff performance improved with more trainings, resulting in 39 staff members meeting AZ criteria for all 3 measures. (1) Zerfas, A.J. (1985).Checking Continuous Measures: Manual for Anthropometry. Los Angeles, CA: Div of Epi, SPH, UCLA.Grant Funding Source: USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture