The stature or standing height is an anthropometric datum of great importance; not surprisingly, it represents the standard parameter to which many other measures, such as weight, nutritional status and body development, can be compared. Even if it is a routine anthropometric survey, it is very important to respect the correct survey procedure. There are in fact three sources of error that can affect the result of the measurement: the subject, the operator and the tools used.
To measure the height with scientific rigor, it is necessary to obtain a portable anthropometer or stadiometer (to be accurately fixed to the wall) or, better still, fixed. It is an instrument consisting of a "vertical rod graduated in mm and cm from bottom to l" high, equipped with a cursor on which the movable branch is inserted at a right angle. This sort of horizontal bar will be placed in contact with the highest point of the head (vertex), which must be kept in such a position as to orient the look straight at the horizon. Going more specifically, anthropometric standards require that:
the line of vision is maintained according to the Frankfurt plane (plane that passes between the auditory foramen and the inferior margin of the orbit), which in turn must be parallel to the support base.
The mobile branch must exert sufficient pressure on the head to compress the hair, which must be free from braids, dreadlocks, headbands and anything else that could alter the measurement of the height.
You must be barefoot or wear very fine socks; the heels and ankles must be kept in contact and the tips of the feet slightly apart (at 60 degrees); the knees must not be bent.
The occiput, shoulder blades, buttocks and heels must remain in contact with the stadiometer upright or with the wall (depending on the instrument used). If you use a removable anthropometer with a weak structure, which is easily destabilized with the "body support, it is best to ignore this point.
The weight must be equally distributed on both feet, the sole of which must rest on a flat and stable surface. The arms hang freely at the sides of the trunk with the palms facing the thighs.
If the lumbar lordosis is very accentuated, a slight pressure on the abdomen of the individual will be carried out with the hands in order to flatten it.
If the person is a child (over two years of age):
after having checked the position of the body according to the standards listed above, he is invited to relax his shoulders and take a deep breath; at the end of the inhalation, the rod is made to slide until it rests on the vertex of the head. At this point, a slight upward pressure is exerted on the mastoid processes (bony protuberances behind the ears) to keep the spine in distension (since children tend to bend it); the point reached by the mobile branch corresponds to the height of the child (provided that the subject does not lift the heels under the pressure of the operator).
For the homemade measure:
you can use a wall without a skirting board, to which you can apply a meter that is well aligned with the floor (the 0 must be at this level, not higher), while the mobile branch can be replaced by a square at right angles. the accuracy of the result are always required 2 meters.
The old statimeters fixed on scales are not very accurate due to the movable base on which the subject's feet rest. The most modern stadiometers, used in clinical practice, have a display for digital reading of the height.
The stature is the distance between the vertex and the support surface.
The Vertex is the highest sagittal point of the head with respect to the horizontally oriented Frankfurt plane.
Frequent errors in measuring stature or standing height: unsuitable instrumentation; head or feet not bare; head not properly aligned, body arched, knees bent, feet raised on toes, shoulders not straight.
It is advisable to measure the height in the morning, since in the evening there may be a decrease of even 2-3 centimeters (due to dehydration of the intervertebral discs). In any case, especially when evaluating the growth of a child, it is important to always measure height at the same time during subsequent checks.
After having performed at least two consecutive measurements, the data obtained from the arithmetic mean of the measurements is considered valid. If these differ by more than 4 mm, the test must be repeated.
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