Truth be told: evidence of wheelchair users' accuracy in reporting their height and weight

Abstract

Objectives: To examine whether wheelchair users' self-reports of height and weight differed significantly from direct measurements and whether weight category classifications differed substantially when based on self-reported or measured values.

Design: Single group, cross-sectional analysis. Analyses included paired t tests, chi-square test, analysis of variance, and Bland-Altman agreement analyses.

Setting: A university-based exercise lab.

Participants: Community-dwelling wheelchair users (N=125).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measure: Participants' self-reported and measured height, weight, and body mass index.

Results: Paired t tests revealed that there were significant differences between wheelchair users' self-reported and measured values for height (difference of 3.1±7.6cm [1.2±3.0in]), weight (-1.7±6.5kg [-3.6±14.2lb]), and BMI (-1.6±3.3). These discrepancies also led to substantial misclassification into weight categories, with reliance on self-reported BMI underestimating the weight status of 20% of the sample.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that similar to the general population, wheelchair users are prone to errors when reporting their height and weight and that these errors may exceed those noted in the general population.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00866112.

Conflict of interest statement

No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

Copyright © 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Fig. 1

Anthropometer built to measure recumbent height.

Fig. 2

Self-reported versus measured height in wheelchair users who are men (n=63).

Fig. 3

Self-reported versus measured height in wheelchair users who are women (n=62).

Fig. 4

Self-reported versus measured weight in wheelchair users who are men (n=63).

Fig. 5

Self-reported versus measured weight in wheelchair users who are women (n=62).