Algorithm for measuring patient height and weight

Anthropometry is the main method of anthropological research, which consists in measuring the human body and its parts in order to establish sexual, racial, age and other characteristics of the physical structure, which allow us to give quantitative characteristics of their variability.

Life is a continuous process of development, including the stages of maturation, adulthood and aging. Development and growth are two interdependent and interrelated sides of one process. Development is characterized by qualitative changes, differentiation of organs and tissues and their functional improvement. And growth is a quantitative change that is associated with an increase in cell size, tissue and organ mass, and the entire organism.

Physical development is one of the most important indicators of human health and age-related standards of improvement. The practical ability to correctly evaluate it contributes to the education of a healthy generation. This article will discuss the algorithm for measuring height and weight.

Factors that affect anthropometric indicators

In the human body, the processes of energy exchange and metabolism are continuously taking place, they determine its developmental features. Mass, growth, consistency in the increase in different parts of the body, proportions - all this is programmed by hereditary mechanisms. The sequence of development can be disrupted under the influence of some external and internal factors. The first include social conditions, a sedentary lifestyle, unfavorable intrauterine development, poor nutrition, improper work and rest, bad habits, and ecology.

Internal factors include heredity and the presence of various diseases.

Knowing the algorithm of the action of measuring height and weight, you can visually assess the physical development.

Study conditions

Anthropometry requires the use of carefully adjusted and tested instruments: height meter, weights, dynamometer, centimeter tape , etc. Measurements are recommended in the first half of the day on an empty stomach or two to three hours after eating. Clothing on the subject should be light - knitted. If the measurements are planned to be carried out in the afternoon, before that you should take a horizontal position for ten to fifteen minutes.

In order for the subsequent evaluation to be effective, it is necessary to follow the patient growth algorithm. It should be remembered that the analysis of anthropometric indicators is an essential element in the study of how much physical development meets age standards. Detected abnormalities may be a sign of a specific disease or a risk factor.

Standing height measurement

Since by the evening a person becomes one or two centimeters lower due to natural fatigue, flattening of the arch of the foot and intervertebral cartilage discs, and a decrease in muscle tone, it is advisable to measure growth in the morning. The algorithm includes three stages: preparing for the procedure, performing a measurement, and ending the procedure. Let's talk about each of them.

Preparation

1. In accordance with the instructions, prepare the height meter for work.
2. Introduce yourself to the patient, tell him about the course of the upcoming procedure and get his consent.
3. Hygienic process your hands and drain them.
4. Place a napkin (under the patient's feet) on the site of the stadiometer.
5. Ask the subject to remove their headgear and shoes.
6. Raise the bar height above the expected growth of the subject.

Taking measurement

1. The patient should stand on the platform of the stadiometer so that the back of the head, interscapular region, buttocks and heels touch the upright.
2. The head of the subject should be set so that the earlobe and the tip of the nose are on the same horizontal line.
3. The bar of the height meter must be lowered onto the patient's head without pressing down.
4. Ask the subject to leave the site, if necessary, help him do this.
5. On the lower edge of the bar on the scale, determine growth.

End of procedure

1. Report the measurement results to the subject.
2. The napkin should be removed from the site of the height meter and put in a container designed for waste.
3. Hands should be hygienic and drained.
4. In the medical documentation, make an appropriate record of the results of the procedure.
   

Sitting height measurement

The algorithm for measuring the patient’s height in a sitting position is somewhat different from the above.

1. It is necessary to ask the subject to sit on the folding seat of the height meter, previously covered with oilcloth.
2. The patient should sit in such a way as to touch with three points - shoulder blades, nape and buttocks - a vertical bar with a scale.
3. The head of the subject should be set so that the earlobe and the tip of the nose are on the same horizontal line.
4. The measuring bar must be lowered onto the patient’s crown, press it against the scale and ask the subject to stand up.
5. On the left side of the scale it is necessary to take readings, then the bar should be lowered.
6. Similarly to the above, record the results and inform the patient about them.

Pregnant Growth Measurement: Algorithm

First you need to explain to the pregnant woman the goals and progress of the procedure. The growth measurement algorithm is as follows:

• To stand on the side of the stadiometer and raise its bar above the level of the expected growth of the subject.
• Ask the pregnant woman to stand on the stadiometer platform so that the buttocks, heels and shoulder blades touch the stand of the device, and the head is in such a position that the outer corner of the eye and the tragus of the ear are on the same horizontal line.
• The bar of the height meter should be lowered onto the crown of the pregnant woman and on the scale determine the number of centimeters from the lower level of the bar.
• The obtained data must be entered in the patient’s individual card.
• The height meter should be treated with a cloth that is moistened with a solution (0.5%) of calcium hypochlorite.
• Wash hands thoroughly.

Body weight measurement

For anthropometric studies, it is not enough to know only the algorithm for measuring growth, it is also necessary to be able to determine the weight of a person. Body weight measurement is carried out on a bathroom scale. The patient should stand motionless on the site so that the error in weighing is not more than +/- 50 grams. Unlike growth, weight is an unstable indicator and can change under the influence of many factors. So, the daily fluctuation in body weight can reach one or two kilograms.

Knowing how to measure growth, the weight determination algorithm will be extremely easy to remember. The procedure also consists of three stages.

Weight Measurement Preparation

1. First, in accordance with the instructions should check the accuracy and health of the medical balance.
2. It is necessary to establish the balance of the device, if mechanical structures are used, close the shutter.
3. On a weighing pad you need to lay a napkin for single use.
4. The person conducting the procedure should explain to the patient the sequence of upcoming actions.
5. Hands should be sanitized and drained.

Procedure execution

1. The subject should be asked to undress to underwear, as well as to take off her shoes. Ask him to carefully stand on the weighing pad in the middle.
2. At the time of rising to the measurement panel, the subject must be held by the hand; during the measurement process, it is important to monitor his balance.
3. If a mechanical design is used, the balance gate must be opened.
4. Following the instructions for use of the device, it is necessary to determine the body weight of the subject.

End of procedure

1. The patient should be informed of the results of the weight measurement and help him get off the measuring panel, if necessary, hold his hand.
2. From the weighing pad you need to remove the napkin and send it to a container designed for waste.
3. Hands should be sanitized and drained.
4. Results must be recorded in the appropriate documentation.

Algorithm for measuring growth in children of different ages

The most stable indicator of physical development in children is growth. It reflects the development process of the child's body. As a rule, significant growth disorders are accompanied by pathologies of other systems and organs. So, in the case of a slowdown in skeletal growth, the differentiation and growth of the brain, myocardium, and skeletal muscles are often slowed to a lesser or greater extent.

How is newborn growth measured? The algorithm requires a height meter in the form of a board with a width of 40 and a length of 80 centimeters. On the left side of the device there should be a centimeter scale with a fixed transverse bar at the beginning and a movable transverse bar at the end that moves easily along the scale.

Technique for measuring baby growth

1. The baby must be laid on his back so that his head touches the fixed transverse bar of the height meter. It should be located so that the upper edge of the tragus of the ear and the lower edge of the orbit are in the same horizontal plane.
2. The mother of the child or the assistant should measure the baby’s head tightly.
3. The legs of the newborn should be straightened by lightly pressing on the knees with the palm of one hand, and with the other hand, the movable level of the height meter should be brought tightly to the heels, while the feet should be bent to the legs to the right angle. The distance from the fixed to the movable strap will be the height of the child. It is necessary to mark the length to the nearest millimeter.

How to measure growth in older children

An algorithm for measuring the growth of a child up to a year was presented above, and what technique of the procedure will suit older children? In this case, a stadiometer is required in the form of a wooden bar eight to ten centimeters wide, about two meters long and five to seven centimeters thick. The front vertical surface of the bar should contain two graduation scales in centimeters: on the left - to measure growth while sitting, on the right - standing. There should also be a movable twenty-centimeter strap. A bench is attached to a vertical bar at the level of forty centimeters from a wooden platform to measure sitting height.

The growth measurement algorithm for children from a year and older is similar to that used for adults.

Body weight

In comparison with growth, the baby’s weight is a more labile indicator, which reflects the degree of development of muscle and skeletal systems, subcutaneous fat, internal organs, and depends not only on constitutional features, but also on environmental factors, such as mental and physical stress, nutrition etc.

Usually, a weight measurement algorithm (like a growth measurement algorithm) is straightforward. Children under three years old with a weight of up to twenty kilograms are weighed on a cup scale consisting of a rocker arm and a tray with a lower (in kg) and upper (in g) division scales. Children from the age of three are weighed on a lever scale.