Running head: ANTHROPEMETRIC DETERMINATES OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

Anthropometric Determinants of Low Birth Weight in Newborns Summary

Alyssa Cannon
Salt Lake Community College

ANTHROPEMETRIC DETERMINATES OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

Introduction
This article I read was about an experiment done in the Hoshiarpur District in Panjab
India, to find the right measurements for determining low birth weights in babies. This was done
by Hardeep Kaur, and Rupinder Bansal. Birth weight can be one of the most reliable factors
when it comes to the health of a community. Scientists already know that low birth weight can be
an important factor when trying to keep a baby healthy. They also already know that in India one
third of the babies are born low birth weight. They are doing this research to find the best way to
determine the best surrogate anthropometric measurement, and cut off points, to determine low
birth weight in newborns the Hoshiarpur District in Panjab. This is relevant to the world because
if they find this out they can find ways to start preventing low birth weights in newborns,
especially in underdeveloped countries. Low birth weights can have relations with some long
term disabilities, such as Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, vision and hearing impairments,
and other developmental diseases. That is why it is good to be able to find a wat to prevent these.
Materials and Methods
This study was done in one government and four reputed private hospitals of the
Hoshiarpur district. There were 504 mothers between the ages of 20-35 years that were taken for
this study. They would take the women in their last trimester of the pregnancy. Some mothers
were not allowed to do the experiment if they had special conditions such as, multiple
pregnancies, chronic illness, hypertension, anemia, thyroid disease, tested positive for HIV, or
syphilis. The main type of technique used was measurements. The height of the baby was
measured with the use of an infantometer, weight was taken with a digital scale. The baby would
be weighed without clothes on. The babies that were considered LBW would be at a weight of
2.5 kg. Some other materials they would use was the Harpender skinfold caliper, and an inelastic

ANTHROPEMETRIC DETERMINATES OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

tape. They use the Harpender skinfold caliper to measure the babys skin fold thickness. They
use the inelastic tape to measure circumference measurements of the newborn. The babys
heights were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm, and the weight to the nearest 0.2 kg. The different
circumference measurements they took were the crown heel, mid-upper arm, head, chest, calf,
and abdominal. They were all made the nearest 0.1 cm. skinfold thicknesses were made to the
nearest 0.2 mm.
Results
Some of the results they found were that 20.23 percent of the total babies measured were
found to be low birth weight. Among these low birth weights, 56.86 percent were males, and
43.14 percent were females. They did find that birth weight and gender were not really
significant, males having a higher percentage would be the same with normal births weights as
well. They found the optimum cut off point measurement for identifying low birth weight
newborns was 47.45 cm. The mid arm circumference was found to be the best surrogate
measurement for identifying low birth weight in newborns, followed by the chest circumference.
The total most significant contributors for identifying low birth weight are crown heel length,
head circumference, mid arm circumference, subscapular skinfold, bicep skinfold, and thigh
skinfold thickness. The abdominal circumference was actually found to have a negative
significance.
Discussion
The information they found did support their hypothesis, they found more accurate
measurements, and where to accurately measure the babies. I think they proved what they set out
to do. Kaur and Bansal said, In Bangladesh, it has been concluded that a mid-arm circumference
of <9 cm had the best sensitivity and specificity for identifying newborns with a birth weight of

ANTHROPEMETRIC DETERMINATES OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

less than 2,500 gm, validity of cut off values of the best anthropometric parameters in the present
study depict that a mid-arm circumference 8.44 and chest circumference of 29.16 had better
sensitivity and specificity in the combination for identifying infants weighing < 2,500 gms.
(Kaur & Bansal, 2012) so the new measurements are more accurate. They also found the chest
circumference measurement of 29.16 cm was the second best indicator after the mid-arm
circumference.
Overall the study was accurate and well done there were some limitations, such as this
was only for developing countries, and they only used 504 mothers. It could have been helpful to
have a bigger population, but they did have quite a few participants. So I think it was accurate
enough, for what they were trying to prove.

ANTHROPEMETRIC DETERMINATES OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

Work Cited Page

Kaur, H., Bansal, R. (2012). Anthropometric determinants of low birth weight in newborns of
Hosiarpur district (Punjab) A hospital based study. Human Biology Review, 1(4), 376386.