ANTHROPOMETRY

Soumya Ranjan Parida

Basic B.Sc. Nursing 4th year

Sum Nursing College

EQUIPMENTSWEIGHING SCALE- DETECTO SCALE

ELECTRONIC SCALE

SPRING MACHINE

HEIGHT\LENGTH - INFANTOMETER

STADOMETER

MEASURING TAPE

CALIPERS

WeightLength and Height Head CircumferenceChest Circumference

Mid arm CircumferenceSkin Fold Thikness

Upper Segment/Lower Segment Ratio

AGE DEPENDENT MEASUREMENTS

Weight For Age

Height For AgeHead CircumferenceChest Circumference

Mid arm CircumferenceSkin Fold Thickness

AGE INDEPENDENT MEASUREMENTS

Weight For Height Normal - >90%

Mild PEM –80-90% Mod PEM –70-80%- Severe PEM –<70%

Rao and Singh Criteria(wt/ht2) Normal – 0.15 – 0.16 Dugdale”s Index (wt/ht1.6) Normal – 0.88 – 0.97

Quac Stick-(mac/ht)Kanawati and Mclaren Index-(mac/hc)

Normal - >0.310 Mild PEM – 0.310-0.280 Mod PEM – 0.280-0.250

Severe PEM - < 0.250

Assessment

Weight: most reliable criterion for assessment of health and nutritional status of children. Weight is a measure of total body mass and is sensitive to changes in body fluids, fat ,muscle mass, skeleton and body organs.

GROWTH VELOCITY 0-4 months 1.0 kg/month (30g/day)

5-8 months 0.75 kg/month (20g/day) 9-12 months 0.50 kg/month (15g/day)

1-3 years 3.0 kg/yr 3-12 years 2.0 kg/yr 12-18 years 5.0-6.0 kg/yr (0.5 kg/month)

Formulas for Weight (Weight for age)

The newborn loses weight in the first few days after birth due to loss of edema fluid and

regains birth weight by about the 10th day of life.

Weight increases by 25-30 grams/day from day 10 of life to 3 months age.

From 3 months – 1 year: Weight (Kgs) = 9 +( age months)/ 2

From 1 year – 6 years: Weight (Kgs) = 2 (age in years) + 8

From 6 years – 12 years: Weight (Kgs) = 7 (age in years) – 5 /2

BALANCE SCALE

Length and Height

Upto 2 years of age recumbent length is measured with the help

of an infantometer while in order children standing height is recorded

Height Velocity

At birth : 20 inches (50 cm)

Gain during 1st year : 10 inches (25 cm)

Gain during 2nd year : 5 inches (12.5 cm)

Gain during 3rd year : 3.4 inches (7.5 -10 cm)

Gain during 3-12 years : 2-3 inches/year (5.0 –7.5 cm)

Adolescence : 8 cm / year girls

10 cm / year boys

*Formula for Length or Height cm = (age in years x 6 + 77)

HEIGHT

Head CircumferenceGrowth velocity(4-3-2-1-1-1)Till 3 months : 2 cm / month3 months – 1 year : 2 cm / 3 months (1/3 of

initial velocity)1- 3 years : 1 cm / 6 months (1/12 of

initial velocity)3-5 years : 1 cm / year (1-24 of

initial velocity)

During first year there is 12 cm increase in head circumference, while between 1-5 years age,only 5 cm gain occurs in head size. Adult head size is achieved between 5 to 6 years.

Chest circumference

The chest circumference is lower than the head circumference at birth. It equals the head circumference by 9 months in western children & by 1-2 years in Indian children & then crosses it. In PEM, because of brain-sparing, the head circumference is not as much affected as the chest circumference & hence the cross-over may not occur even after 3 years.

MID ARM CIRCUMFERENCE

AGE INDIPENDENT CRITERIA

AGE OF 1 – 5 Yr

MID POINT OF ACRIMIAN AND OLECRANON PROCESS

NORMAL ->14.5-16 CM

MOD MALNUTRITION 12.5-13.5 CM

SEVERE MALNUTRITION <12.5 CM

SKIN FOLD THICKNESSBiceps- The anterior surface of the biceps midway between the anterior auxiliary

fold and the antecubital fossa.Triceps- A vertical fold on the posterior midline of the upper arm, over the triceps

muscle, halfway between the acrosion process, and olecranon process. The elbow should be extended and the arm relaxed.

Subscapular- The fold is taken on the diagonal line coming from the vertebral border to between 1 and 2 cm from the inferior angle of the scapulae.

Suprai l iac- A diagonal fold above the crest of the ilium at the spot where an imaginary line would come down from the anterior auxiliary line.

NORMAL – 1-6yr - >10 cmSevere PEM - < 6 CM

HERPENDEN’S CALIPER