Use of knee height as a surrogate measure of height in older South Africans

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dc.contributor.authorMarais D.
dc.contributor.authorMarais M.L.
dc.contributor.authorLabadarios D.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T16:18:01Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T16:18:01Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractThe study aimed to determine whether knee height would be a more appropriate surrogate measurement than armspan in determining height and body mass index (BMI) in a group of South African older people (≥ 60 years). A random sample of adults (older than 18 years) who attended selected clinics or who lived in selected old-age homes in the Western Cape volunteered to participate in the study. Subjects were divided into a study group of older people (≥ 60 years of age, N = 1 233) and a comparative group of younger adults (18-59 years, N = 1 038). Armspan, knee height, standing height and weight were measured using standardised techniques. The standing height measurements were significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.0001), with a mean for adults of 1.61 m (standard deviation (SD) 0.09) compared with that of older people (1.57 m (SD 0.09)). Mean standing height decreased with age. Knee-height measurements were not significantly different between the two groups, but when used to calculate height, the adults were significantly taller (p = 0.0001), with a mean height of 1.67 m (SD 0.06) compared with that of the older people (1.59 m (SD 0.08)). Mean armspan also decreased with age, and derived standing height was significantly different (p = 0.0001) between the two groups, with adults being taller (1.67 m (SD 0.11)) than the older people (1.63 m (SD 0.11)). In this study group, the knee-height measurements were more closely related to the standing height than the armspan. The BMI calculated from armspan-derived height tended to classify the older people towards underweight. Knee-height measurement would appear to be a more accurate and appropriate method to determine height in older people in South Africa.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationSouth African Journal of Clinical Nutrition
dc.identifier.citation20
dc.identifier.citation1
dc.identifier.issn16070658
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/14476
dc.subjectadult
dc.subjectage distribution
dc.subjectaged
dc.subjectanthropometric parameters
dc.subjectarm
dc.subjectarticle
dc.subjectbody height
dc.subjectbody mass
dc.subjectbody weight
dc.subjectcontrolled study
dc.subjectfemale
dc.subjectgeriatric care
dc.subjectgeriatric hospital
dc.subjecthome for the aged
dc.subjecthuman
dc.subjecthuman experiment
dc.subjectknee height
dc.subjectmale
dc.subjectnormal human
dc.subjectnutritional status
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectstanding
dc.subjectstatistical significance
dc.titleUse of knee height as a surrogate measure of height in older South Africans
dc.typeArticle
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