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Comparison of Height, Weight, and Body Mass Index Data From State‐Mandated School Physical Fitness Testing and a Districtwide Surveillance Project
Author(s) -
Khaokham Christina B.,
Hillidge Sharon,
Serpas Shaila,
McDonald Eric,
Nader Philip R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12257
Subject(s) - overweight , underweight , body mass index , demography , medicine , obesity , confidence interval , statistics , mathematics , pathology , sociology
BACKGROUND Approximately one third of California school‐age children are overweight or obese. Legislative approaches to assessing obesity have focused on school‐based data collection. During 2010‐2011, the Chula Vista Elementary School District conducted districtwide surveillance and state‐mandated physical fitness testing ( PFT ) among fifth grade students. We compared height, weight, and body mass index ( BMI ) to examine measurement differences between the projects. METHODS We assessed demographic characteristics and BMI category frequencies. We used paired t‐tests to test continuous variables. κ statistics were used to assess categorical agreement. RESULTS Of 3549 children assessed, 69% were Hispanic. Fifty‐one percent were boys. Mean heights, weights, and BMIs were significantly different for each project (p < .0001). Surveillance height (106.7‐165.1 cm) and weight (21.6‐90.8 kg) ranges were lesser than PFT ranges (109.2‐180.3 cm and 22.7‐98.4 kg). The overall BMI category agreement was good (weighted κ = 0.77). Categorical percentage agreement was highest among normal weight children (94.9%) and lowest among underweight children (56.6%). CONCLUSIONS Methodological differences might have resulted in the observed height, weight, and BMI differences. As school‐based interventions become common, districts should carefully consider measurement reliability, training, and data‐handling protocols to have confidence in their findings.