Recruiting participants for ergonomic research using self-reported stature and body mass.

The participants were mostly young adults, with a mean age of about 28 years, so the results may not apply to older adults. Very few participants were in the BMI < 18.5 and BMI > 30 groups, so the paper cannot say much about those groups. The study was done in ergonomics experiments, not in clinical care, so it does not show how these differences affect patient assessment or treatment. Self-reported measurements were taken at unknown times, while stature and body mass can change during the day, so part of the difference may not be reporting bias. The authors did not adjust for clothing weight, and men and women may have different clothing weights. The international group was mainly studying or working in the Netherlands, so cultural differences may be limited. Peak variations were large: self-reported stature peak variations –5.5% and 7%, body mass –12.8% and 22.9%.

Do not treat the adjustment equations as a substitute for measured height and weight in patient care. They were built for ergonomics research recruitment, and the authors report large peak variations, including 7% for stature and 22.9% for body mass.