Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme
Most studies reporting prevalence of obesity use actual weight and height measurements. Self-reported weight and height have been used in epidemiological studies as they have been shown to be reliable, convenient, and inexpensive alternatives to actual measurements. However, the accuracy of self-rep...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PLOS
2023
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/1/30.pdf |
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| author | Chia, Yook Chin * Ching, S. M. Ooi, Pei Boon * Beh, H. C. Chew, Ming Tsuey * Chung, Felicia Fei Lei * Navin, Kumar Lim, Hooi Min |
| author_facet | Chia, Yook Chin * Ching, S. M. Ooi, Pei Boon * Beh, H. C. Chew, Ming Tsuey * Chung, Felicia Fei Lei * Navin, Kumar Lim, Hooi Min |
| author_sort | Chia, Yook Chin * |
| building | SU Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Most studies reporting prevalence of obesity use actual weight and height measurements. Self-reported weight and height have been used in epidemiological studies as they have been shown to be reliable, convenient, and inexpensive alternatives to actual measurements. However, the accuracy of self-reported weight and height might vary in different regions because of the difference in health awareness and social influences. This study aims to determine the accuracy and reliability of self-reported weight and height compared to actual measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the community level during blood pressure screening campaigns. Participants self-reported their weight and height in a questionnaire survey. Their weight and height were validated using measurements by researchers on the same setting. Body mass index (BMI) was defined as underweight (<18.5kg/m2), normal (18.5–22.9 kg/m2), overweight (23–27.4 kg/m2) and obesity (≥27.5 kg/m2). Bland-Altman analysis, intraclass correlation coefficients and weighted Kappa statistics were used to assess the degree of agreement between self-reported and measured weight and height. A total of 2781 participants were recruited in this study. The difference between the mean self-reported and measured weight and height were 0.4 kg and 0.4 cm respectively. Weighted Kappa statistics analysis showed that there was a substantial agreement between the BMI classifications derived from self-reported and actual measurement (ҡ = 0.920, p<0.001). There was no marked difference in the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported BMI among Malaysian adults by gender. We observed substantial agreement between self-reported and measured body weight and height within a sample of Malaysian adults. While self-reported body weight showed weaker agreement with actual measurements particularly for obese and overweight individuals, BMI values derived from self-reported weight and height were accurate for 88.53% of the participants. We thus conclude that self-reported height and weight measures may be useful for tracking and estimating population trends amongst Malaysian adults. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:20:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | sunway-2252 |
| institution | Sunway University |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:20:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | PLOS |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | sunway-22522023-06-16T02:53:25Z http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/ Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme Chia, Yook Chin * Ching, S. M. Ooi, Pei Boon * Beh, H. C. Chew, Ming Tsuey * Chung, Felicia Fei Lei * Navin, Kumar Lim, Hooi Min RA Public aspects of medicine Most studies reporting prevalence of obesity use actual weight and height measurements. Self-reported weight and height have been used in epidemiological studies as they have been shown to be reliable, convenient, and inexpensive alternatives to actual measurements. However, the accuracy of self-reported weight and height might vary in different regions because of the difference in health awareness and social influences. This study aims to determine the accuracy and reliability of self-reported weight and height compared to actual measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the community level during blood pressure screening campaigns. Participants self-reported their weight and height in a questionnaire survey. Their weight and height were validated using measurements by researchers on the same setting. Body mass index (BMI) was defined as underweight (<18.5kg/m2), normal (18.5–22.9 kg/m2), overweight (23–27.4 kg/m2) and obesity (≥27.5 kg/m2). Bland-Altman analysis, intraclass correlation coefficients and weighted Kappa statistics were used to assess the degree of agreement between self-reported and measured weight and height. A total of 2781 participants were recruited in this study. The difference between the mean self-reported and measured weight and height were 0.4 kg and 0.4 cm respectively. Weighted Kappa statistics analysis showed that there was a substantial agreement between the BMI classifications derived from self-reported and actual measurement (ҡ = 0.920, p<0.001). There was no marked difference in the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported BMI among Malaysian adults by gender. We observed substantial agreement between self-reported and measured body weight and height within a sample of Malaysian adults. While self-reported body weight showed weaker agreement with actual measurements particularly for obese and overweight individuals, BMI values derived from self-reported weight and height were accurate for 88.53% of the participants. We thus conclude that self-reported height and weight measures may be useful for tracking and estimating population trends amongst Malaysian adults. PLOS 2023-01-17 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/1/30.pdf Chia, Yook Chin * and Ching, S. M. and Ooi, Pei Boon * and Beh, H. C. and Chew, Ming Tsuey * and Chung, Felicia Fei Lei * and Navin, Kumar and Lim, Hooi Min (2023) Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme. PLOS ONE, 18 (1). ISSN 1932-6203 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0280483 10.1371/journal. pone.0280483 |
| spellingShingle | RA Public aspects of medicine Chia, Yook Chin * Ching, S. M. Ooi, Pei Boon * Beh, H. C. Chew, Ming Tsuey * Chung, Felicia Fei Lei * Navin, Kumar Lim, Hooi Min Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title | Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title_full | Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title_fullStr | Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title_short | Measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| title_sort | measurement accuracy and reliability of self-reported versus measured weight and height among adults in malaysia: findings from a nationwide blood pressure screening programme |
| topic | RA Public aspects of medicine |
| url | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2252/1/30.pdf |