Basically, anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice, and I have a number of reasons why this is. I believe many people practice nutrition, but I would rather call it “village nutrition”. This is where you don’t have the rationale for eating what you’re eating. So probably, you’ll end up eating unnecessary food and practicing vague nutrition adherences.

See the 7 Health Benefits of Bananas.

In any case, nutrition is science, and it’s based on a guiding care module known as the “nutritional assessment”. It’s in the nutritional assessment where we also have anthropometric assessments.

Besides that, we also have the biochemical, clinical, and dietary assessments – shaping this as the ABCD of the nutritional assessment.

• “A” stands for Anthropometric,
• “B” stands for Biochemical,
• “C” stands for Clinical, and,
• “D” stands for Dietary.

I may tackle these components of nutritional assessment in another post. But now, my focus is to get you to understand why anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice. So let’s dive immediately into the meaning of anthropometry and what it entails.

What is Anthropometry?

In simple terms, anthropometry is the measurement of an individual’s body or body parts. It may be the measurement of head circumference, weight, height, mid-upper arm circumferences (MUACs), etc. Also, it may be for a calculation of basal mass index (BMI) which requires the measurements of weight and height.

According to the CDC guidelines, there are anthropometric measurements that are mandatory for different stages of life. For instance, 0-5 years, 6-12 years, or 18 years and above. At every clinical visit, we measure the height, weight, and head circumference of children less than two years. While those above two years, we measure their heights and weights alone. MUAC measurement can also be vital to indicate the status of malnutrition.

Let’s take a quick look at these measurements by definition.

Types Of Anthropometric Measurements

1) BMI:

It refers to weight over the square of height. Majorly measuring the adults’ status of nutrition, BMI has different categories. Less than 18.5 means underweight. Between 18.5 and 25.0 is the normal healthy weight range. A weight range of 25.0 to 30.0 is overweight while over 30.0 is the range of obesity.

The nutritional status of adult individuals, especially, uses this before providing any diagnosis and intervention commitments. Thus, having the measurements of weight and height provides for an initial process of nutrition role.

2) MUACs:

This is the mid-upper arm circumference, which is basically measured using a MUAC tape. It’s largely used among children and provides for the nutrition status of the children. That’s if they are severely malnourished, mildly malnourished, or moderately malnourished.

A less than 11.0 centimeters MUAC is severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This will be visible on the RED range of the tape and may require that the patient-child is treated urgently. While the MUAC range of 11.0 to 12.5 centimeters is moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). The early stages of the child demand a continuous evaluation of their nutrition status. MUAC is the easiest way to do that!

3) Head Circumference:

This provides the measurement of the head at different times to determine a child’s growth. We mainly use sliding calipers for this purpose. So you can use it to track and monitor the growth and development of a child on different occasions.

Averagely, the circumference of the head should increase, in the first three months of the child, by 6 centimeters. This means that each month their head circumference increase should be 2 centimeters. In the next three months (that is 3-6 months), head circumference should increase by 1 centimeter per month.

4) Waist, Limbs, Chest, and Hip Circumferences (Body Circumferences):

This is the measurement of body fats, which may be of the waist, chest, limb, or hip. This is especially important for those that are targeting to slim up or maintain fitness. You’re going to use a tape measure for this. So when your measurements are obtained, you will insert them into an equation to find the percentage of body fat. The formula for the body fat percentage is:

5) Skinfold Thickness:

The measurement of the subcutaneous fat thickness at different parts of the body to estimate total body fat. You’ll pinch the skin and slightly pull the skin away from the body. Place the calipers on the section pulled and take your measurements. This goes hand in hand with body circumferences because it’s hardly possible to differentiate their applications. Perhaps, it’s due to the fact that their end mission is to find the percentage of body fat.

Do you now see why anthropometry is a cornerstone of nutrition practice? Perhaps, I can take you directly to its importance.

How Is Anthropometry Important?

Taking body measurements is a process that ensures or enables validation. For instance, you take weight to find out if your body is normal or not to support an intervention. Or maybe, you cannot be prescribed a certain treatment unless your body weight and biochemistry are able to support it. Therefore, by anthropometry, you can have many advantages to exploit.

You can use anthropometry to:

• Determine if you’re healthy or not. That is, they help detect deviations from an optimal nutritional status.
• Prepare for any treatment or clinical intervention.
• Check the progress of your body; if you have an improvement or not.
• Help plan for appropriate regimens that can provide the desired body result.
• Determine the extent you’re protected against chronic and acute diseases.
• Design items for individual use, in cases of industrial applications.

The best thing is, anybody can take their body measurements for a particular course. For instance, athletes can do so to help determine how their diet ought to be. You can find that in sports nutrition.

At the same time, you can have individuals seeking to cut weight. It’s essential that the weight be recorded and the targets made during which a weight-cutting program is ongoing. I’ve not mentioned other instances like treating kidney, heart, and liver diseases.

Anthropometry is vital to ensure that they have appropriate energies and nutritional components in their body to enable healing/control. This way, anthropometry seems to form the cornerstone of nutrition practice.

Even so, let’s dissect the real reason why anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice. I provide you with the 7 grand logic behind practicing nutrition from the anthropometrical assessment level.

Reasons Why Anthropometry Is The Cornerstone Of Nutrition Practice

1: It’s The Chief Indicator Of Nutritional Status

How can you know you’re healthy and nutritionally perfect?

It must start with a measurement, and that should be a record of anthropometry. There are basically four calibrations that determine the nutritional status of an individual. And these are underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity.

From the anthropometric demarcations, underweight is a BMI record of less than 18.5. On the other side, a normal weight ranges between 18.5 to 25.0 as overweight is above 25.0. We also have an obese category, which begins at a BMI of 30.0.

This is how nutritional experts get to know your nutritional status. And it can be the basis for calculating and prescribing your dietary needs. So, when your nutritional status is mandatory, anthropometry becomes the cornerstone of nutrition practice. For example, using a strong intervention for the underweight may create tension in the body to interfere with normal functions.

Let’s say prescribing a keto diet for an underweight individual may not be effective. A keto diet may mean substituting energy production from carbohydrates and using fats instead. That may mean a lot of strain on energy production, which may also mean reducing the efforts of the individuals. It may turn as lethal to the underweights.

So, by knowing the anthropometrical measurements of individuals, the nutritional experts have a clear sight to administer appropriate nutritional protocols.

As a matter of fact, we’ve seen many people playing nutritional roles without proper standards. Unknowingly, they’ve suggested wrong diets per se, because they’ve failed to place anthropometrical assessments at the beginning of their intervention. This is the problem with finding those who pretend to know nutrition but are not experts in the field.

With that said, a point to note here is this: anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice!

2: Provides An Individual’s Nutritional History

The body does not adjust quickly after your eating routine. It’s always a gradual process that brings steady change. The nutritional status you may reflect today is, therefore, the outcome of your previous nutrition practice. If your anthropometric measurements today indicate that you’re underweight, it also means that your previous nutrition was not good.

Anthropometry is therefore a tool to determine the nutritional history of the individual. Numerous aspects are featured under this, such as the nutritional essence of underweight, overweight, or normal individuals. Anthropometry is also an element of nutritional history to determine the nutrition impact and health in relation to the environment.

Another important factor, in this case, is calculating the weight changes. Most nutritional interventions rely on changes in weight to design a nutritional regimen. The records of anthropometrical measurements become of vital use to track the history of development and progress.

For example, an individual was previously underweight and put on a SAM nutrition intervention program. He later gained weight and currently weighs on a normal scale. The difference is marked by the nutritional administrations, which provide a record of nutritional history in anthropometric measurement changes.

Without measurements, establishing the nutritional history and providing nutritional intervention may be impossible. Most often, a nutritional expert will require your nutritional history, but majorly anthropometrical measurements. This is to provide him with data on the nutritional progress the patient has had in the past.

The vitality of anthropometry thus makes it the cornerstone of nutrition practice. Any other nutritional regimen shall follow or need a clean record of nutritional history.

3: A Reflection Of Health And Survival

Nutrition is an important aspect in every stage of life, but more so, in children. When a child survives under good nutrition, the adulthood stage may be a composition of good health altogether.

One of the reasons why MCH facilities start by monitoring children’s early growth and development is to ensure good nutrition. Taking anthropometric measurements is the cornerstone of this process. So, the health centers will, at interval periods, take the anthropometric measurements of the children. The reason for that is to monitor and determine if they are on a normal growth curve. When a child measures normally, it is simply a reflection of good health and perfect immunity development. Otherwise, the children may be referred for emergency services if found with either MAM or SAM.

In all these, we establish that a perfect process of practicing nutrition starts with anthropometry. And since anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice, it’s definitely a framework to determine health. Whereas, the survival of a child in case of an infection can also be established. For example, a normal or good weight as a result of nutritional practice means good health and immunity.

A child can be able to stand a strong infection to survive in the end. However, if the child is underweight, it’s very difficult for the child to survive. Handling these cases will always require that the child is admitted to the hospital. They will then be provided with regulated treatments and therapies, both medical and nutritional. Their recoveries, though, might take a little more time compared to those with normal/good weight.

So beginning with anthropometry, you can provide the necessary intervention to the child. And that’s probably because anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice.

4: A Calculation Medium For Necessary Intervention

There are several calculations involved in nutrition that we cannot even count. But the basic calculation starts from the point of anthropometry. For example, a patient has been diagnosed with renal failure, and you’re required to take care of his nutritional health.

Apparently, you cannot start any nutritional care program unless you get his or her anthropometric measurements. However, you also need more than that; biochemical assessment is very essential. I will cover that in another post, let us just see how anthropometry applies first.

With the renal failure patient, first, measure his weight and height and calculate the BMI as follows:

• Let’s say that the patient is a male (aged 42 years) who weighs 91 kg and height is 170 centimeters. The BMI will be;
• : convert 170 centimeters to meters = 1.7 meters. It should be in meters when calculating the BMI.
• BMI = 31.48; that is obese from the standard nutritional status reference of an adult.

After finding the BMI, the next nutrition program action is to plan an effective diet to curate the patient’s condition. As a nutritionist, you may need to propose diets and calculate their amounts. This should keep in check the biochemical composition of the patient. A full hemogram may be of the essence, where we record the tests for the counts of RBC, WBC, platelets, etc.

In addition, the tests for vitamins and minerals may also be vital. When you’ve established all these, you may now accurately, properly, and calculably administer the dietary regimen to help the patient.

Therefore, anthropometry should not miss for this end to be ascertained because it is the cornerstone of nutrition practice here.

5: Prediction Of Disease Development

We normally associate diabetes, heart disease, kidney failures, etc. with being overweight and having poor nutrition balance. The hospital trend shows that out of every ten overweight/obese patients, about three suffer from one of the conditions. It’s a devastating case but precautionary measures are placed on identifying the people who are at risk. Guess how?

Yes, by getting their anthropometric measurements and treating them as a special case. When a sick but obese individual is taken to the hospital, the first assessment is usually medical and nutritional history. While the condition of the patient may associate with his extreme weight, it’s better verified anthropometrically before administering the medication.

But in any case, do you see how the prediction of the disease comes by? Finding a patient as obese/overweight gives us a first impression of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular, and other diseases. Anthropometry is the cornerstone of this nutrition practice; it arms a nutritional expert with the powerful power to predict.

Again, if a patient is SAM, the health provider may simply estimate some of the bothering conditions. For example, the complications like hypoglycemia, urinary tract infection, severe diarrhea, and sepsis, among others are sure conditions in SAM.

This way, anthropometry materializes as the cornerstone of nutrition practice. And this may not be compromised ever. The first clinical impression is confirmed when you find your anthropometric measurements.

6: A Reflection Of Lifestyle

A conspicuous reflection of your lifestyle is not far away from your nutritional status. And neither is nutritional status separable from your anthropometry. Often, they say, “you are what you eat”. Somebody eating junk food becomes more of a junk.

Eating healthy and diverse foods also reflects in your body. All are evident when we take your anthropometric measurements. You might have never known how anthropometry makes the diverse world of nutrition until you’ve read this.

Factually, you don’t expect an overweight individual to be on a good nutrition practice unless you determine so. If he or she is fat, then from what foods? Does he or she have frequent meals with balanced nutrients? Such as 60% carbs, 30% proteins, and 10% fats, plus some fruits and veggies.

Note this, most individuals who grow fatter do so because their bodies have obtained abundant carbohydrates more than others. Some individuals consume these in celebration moods. For instance, at parties, a child playing a game snacking, and a couple on a date taking a soda, etc. In such cases, you’ll consume more carbs and fats than proteins – a classy lifestyle.

Here is what happens when you take in too much carbohydrates:

• Carbs are quickly converted to their simplest form – glucose.
• As some are used in the body to produce energy, any extra glucose will be converted to fats.
• The fats will be converted to adipose tissues and other fats around the body organs.
• Then the weight of the individual will apparently increase.

When we find that an individual is overweight/obese, therefore, we tend to imagine this process more than anything else. As nutritional experts, we have the immediate connecting scenario that we diagnose before we can do the full intervention. And our platform to indulge our expertise is primarily on anthropometry and its functions. Thus, anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice.

7: Understand And Plan For Nutritional Success

Basically, anthropometry proves vital for athletes and any individual in the fitness program. Especially, understanding and planning about energy and body weight requirements is a game starting with taking body measurements.

If you want to be successful in sports, nutrition should be your first focus. There’s no nutrition, however, until you find your anthropometric measurements. You can then plan your nutritional journey appropriately with the help of a nutritional expert. This is where we emphasize why an individual should understand how to take their body measurements by themselves. By that, they are able to control their body weight, and not go below the weight of their normal functions. Or rather, they should not over-take diet to increase their weight more than their optimal weights.

Basing all these on anthropometrical measurements, this is how anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice. Anybody practicing nutrition on individuals without determining their measurements may probably mislead them. And perhaps, they might not offer a nutritional plan that may be successful to the needs of the individual.

Therefore, take it seriously, get a good plan for your nutrition care – and build on anthropometry!

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Bottom Line

After knowing how anthropometry is crucial as the cornerstone of nutrition practice, you are at a level to teach others. Many people indulge in “village nutrition”, where the results they experience are devastating.

Now, the difference between a nutritional expert and others pretending to offer nutritional services is here. The expert will first take you through an anthropometric assessment. Then, he or she will take you to the next step without jumping over fundamental procedures for a nutritional care process.

Perhaps, I can take you through an example. Let’s say you have COVID-19 disease. My first procedure should be to take your weight and height and find your BMI. When I know your BMI, it points out to me how well you can curb a disease. In that, we can guess how strong your immunity is and to what extent would you survive under an intervention. And that’s whether thorough or not! So I can always provide diet therapy or provide a nutritional classification that will need him to prioritize certain diets.

Always, the main target is to make sure that all individuals in our cases are tuned towards a normal nutritional status and have optimal health. All the way from body measurements to regimens, you can see why anthropometry is the cornerstone of nutrition practice.

Perhaps you’re looking for more instructions on this topic. Or want to identify an expert to take you through a nutrition course. You’re in the right place. Click here to engage a nutritional expert. Let that stress about what to do and what to eat to get well be delegated to me. We will work through it to your optimal ends.

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