Mueller W H, Joos S K, Schull W J
Int J Obes. 1985;9(3):193-200.
The assessment of obesity by anthropometry or body composition in studies of chronic disease epidemiology is not always feasible. In this paper we test the accuracy and validity of two alternative methods: body silhouettes and reported weights and heights in a sample of Mexican American adults (n = 166) participating in the Diabetes Alert Study. The body silhouettes were those developed by A. Stunkard and colleagues. We compared the silhouettes obtained independently by three different observers, one with minimal experience in assessing obesity, the other two skilled in anthropometry. Correlations between the expert observers were 0.89-0.90. Those between the expert and less skilled observers were lower (0.64 to 0.85) and were better for female than male subjects. Results suggest an acceptable level of precision for persons with some training in obesity assessment. Body silhouettes compared well with the body mass index (r = 0.85 to 0.92 for the expert vs r = 0.65 to 0.84 for the less skilled observer), being higher for female subjects. The body silhouettes are thus useful for categorizing normal, overweight and obese individuals. The poorer performance on male subjects may relate to the female-like obesity depicted in both sexes in this particular set of silhouettes. A substantial proportion of subjects could not recall their weight or height. For those who could recall their measurements, accuracy was good but measurement error higher than that for measured variables. These problems of recall in this sample from rural Texas point to the potential usefulness of the body silhouette method when actual height and weight measurements cannot be made.
在慢性病流行病学研究中，通过人体测量法或身体成分评估肥胖情况并非总是可行的。在本文中，我们对两种替代方法的准确性和有效性进行了测试：身体轮廓法以及在参与糖尿病警报研究的墨西哥裔美国成年人样本（n = 166）中报告的体重和身高。身体轮廓是由A. 斯图卡德及其同事开发的。我们比较了由三名不同观察者独立获得的轮廓，其中一名在评估肥胖方面经验最少，另外两名擅长人体测量学。专家观察者之间的相关性为0.89 - 0.90。专家与经验较少的观察者之间的相关性较低（0.64至0.85），女性受试者的相关性比男性受试者更好。结果表明，对于经过一些肥胖评估培训的人员来说，精度水平是可以接受的。身体轮廓与体重指数的比较结果良好（专家的r值为0.85至0.92，经验较少的观察者的r值为0.65至0.84），女性受试者的数值更高。因此，身体轮廓可用于对正常、超重和肥胖个体进行分类。男性受试者表现较差可能与这组特定轮廓中描绘的男女皆有的女性化肥胖有关。相当一部分受试者记不起自己的体重或身高。对于那些能够记起测量值的人来说，准确性良好，但测量误差高于实测变量。来自得克萨斯州农村地区的这个样本中的这些回忆问题表明，当无法进行实际身高和体重测量时，身体轮廓法可能有用。
