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Validation of a Weight History Questionnaire to Identify Adolescent Obesity

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Abstract

Background

Past body weight may be a more informative factor than current weight for risk of chronic disease development. Often, investigators must rely on subject recall to gauge past body weights. The Cincinnati Weight History Questionnaire (CWHQ) was developed to aid in the retrospective identification of adults who were obese during adolescence.

Methods

To assess validity, the CWHQ was administered to a subset of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Growth and Health Study (NGHS) participants, a group of young adult females for whom historical measured anthropometrics were available. One hundred ninety-eight NGHS participants were contacted, of whom 191 (97 %) responded (age 26–29). Participants were asked to recall height and weight from ages 13 and 18, which were compared to previously measured values. Multiple indices of validity (Bland–Altman plots, sensitivity, and specificity) were calculated.

Results

The CWHQ was moderately sensitive (range, 19–66 %), but highly specific (range, 89–100 %). Recalled height and weight values used to determine body mass index (BMI) underestimated BMI based on recorded height and weight at ages 13 and 18. Differences in calculated BMI based on recalled and measured height and weight were found to increase with BMI calculated using measured values.

Conclusions

The CWHQ proved to be a moderately sensitive, but highly specific instrument for detecting adolescent obesity in a cohort of young adult females. Epidemiologic research seeking to discriminate between adults with adult-onset vs. adolescent-onset obesity may find the CWHQ useful.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported in part by funding from NGHS HL/DK71122 HC55025 HC48951, Divergence of Blood Pressure HL52911, and Visceral Adiposity HL66430.

Conflict of Interest

The authors Dr. Jenkins, Dr. Buncher, Ms. Akers, Dr. Daniels, Dr. Lawson, Mr. Khoury, Ms. Wilson, and Dr. Inge declare no conflict of interest related to this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7000, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 45229-3039

    Todd M. Jenkins, Tawny P. Wilson & Thomas H. Inge

  2. Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 670056, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 45267-0056

    C. Ralph Buncher

  3. Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 5041, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 45229-3039

    Rachel Akers

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 13123 East 16th Avenue, B065, Aurora, CO, USA, 80045-7106

    Stephen R. Daniels

  5. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Mailbox# 1601, Kennesaw, GA, USA, 30144-5591

    M. Louise Lawson

  6. Division of Cardiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7002, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 45229-3039

    Philip R. Khoury

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  1. Todd M. Jenkins
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  2. C. Ralph Buncher
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  3. Rachel Akers
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  7. Tawny P. Wilson
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  8. Thomas H. Inge
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Todd M. Jenkins.

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Jenkins, T.M., Buncher, C.R., Akers, R. et al. Validation of a Weight History Questionnaire to Identify Adolescent Obesity. OBES SURG 23, 1404–1412 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-013-0901-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-013-0901-7

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