Height and Weight Ht & Wt

Height and Weight Used to determine whether a pt is over/underweight Either of these can indicate a dz Height/weight charts are averages- ** A 10% deviation is considered normal** Performed routinely with hospital admission, general physical exam, long term care facility

Infants Measure Ht, wt, head circumference, chest circumference Why? Growth is rapid Measurements are recorded on a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth graph-- allows MD to compare growth to average percentiles of other children the same age Abnormal growth could indicate nutritional deficiencies or genetic diseases

Head circumference – Brain development – Any head circumference that measures above the 95 th percentile usually indicates hydrocephalus (fluid around the brain> leads to intracranial pressure> brain damage) – May be caused by abnormal development of ventricles, bacterial meningitis, tumors

Microencephaly (small brain) – Can lead to mental retardation – Can be caused by congenital defect, infections during pregnancy, premature closure of fontanels, drug/alcohol abuse during pregnancy (fetal alcohol syndrome), genetic defects

Chest circumference – Overdevelopment/underdevelopment of the heart/lungs – From birth to 1 year > head circumference is usually greater than chest circumference – 1-2 years- equal (Chest circumference is also measured in adults with COPD to measure dz progression)

Frequent weights are usually done with pt’s with hormone disorders (DM, thyroid) digestive disorders, HTN, fluid retention, cancer pt’s

Daily Weights Pt’s with edema d/t heart and kidney disease Remember these points with daily weights – Use same scale each day – Balance scale before weighing pt – Weigh pt at the same time each day (if possible before food/liquids have been consumed) – Pt needs to be wearing same amount of clothing each day – Ask pt to void to empty the bladder

Weight is recorded as pounds and ounces or as kilograms. To convert kilograms to pounds: kg x 2.2= lbs To convert pounds to kilograms: lbs divided by 2.2= kg

Read pages for procedures of measuring height, weight, head and chest circumference on adults and infants