Attitudes Toward Anthropometric Measurements in Youth: The Role of Eating Pathology

The current study assessed attitudes of youth toward anthropometric measurements-specifically, weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements. We hypothesized that nonclinical youth would report fewer intrusive thoughts about MUAC than about weight measurements, and that higher eating pathology would be associated with more intrusive thoughts. We further hypothesized that youth with an eating disorder would have more negative comments about anthropometric measurements than would nonclinical youth. Nonclinical youth were recruited from local schools, while youth with eating disorders were recruited from an eating disorders treatment program. Participants completed self-report measures about their perceptions of weight and MUAC measurements. Data from 64 nonclinical youth and 30 youth with eating disorders were analyzed. As expected, nonclinical youth reported fewer intrusive thoughts about MUAC measurements than about weight measurements. Eating pathology was positively correlated with intrusive thoughts. Youth with eating disorders reported more negative responses about weighing than did nonclinical youth; however, no group differences emerged for perceptions of MUAC measurements. MUAC appears to be a tolerable process for youth, which evokes fewer negative responses than does weight measurement in youth with eating disorders. Although most nonclinical youth reported few intrusive thoughts about anthropometric measurements, a significant minority perceived measurements to be a negative process.