Height and weight are two of the most commonly used anthropometric measurements in clinical practice and research. Self-reported height and weight measurement is a simple, efficient, inexpensive, and non-invasive method of collecting data from large numbers of people. This integrative review of the published research examined the accuracy of self-reported height and weight measurements in women. Twenty-six studies examined the accuracy of self-reported height in 39,244 women. Twenty-one of the studies found that women overestimate height. Thirty-four studies reviewed the accuracy of self-reported weight in 57,172 women, and all 34 studies reported that women underestimated weight. Although mean variations between self-reported and measured values were small, a significant percentage of women in study groups had very large errors. Inaccurate measurements of both height and weight can cause significant inaccuracies in calculation of body mass index, which is used as a guide for identifying persons at risk for disease. These findings indicate that direct measurement of height and weight should be performed whenever possible for optimal measurements in clinical practice and clinically oriented research.

ObjectiveTo study the incidence of sepsis and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) costs as a function of the human milk (HM) dose received during the first 28 days post-birth for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.Study DesignProspective cohort study of 175 VLBW infants. Average daily dose of HM (ADDHM) was calculated from daily nutritional data for the first 28 days post-birth (ADDHM-Days1-28). Other covariates associated with sepsis were used to create a propensity score, combining multiple risk factors into a single metric.ResultThe mean gestational age and birth weight were 28.1 ± 2.4 wk and 1087 ± 252 g, respectively. The mean ADDHM-Days1-28 was 54 ± 39 mL/kg/d (range 0-135). Binary logistic regression analysis controlling for propensity score revealed that increasing ADDHM-Days1-28 was associated with lower odds of sepsis (OR .981, 95%CI .967-.995, p=.008). Increasing ADDHM-Days1-28 was associated with significantly lower NICU costs.ConclusionA dose-response relationship was demonstrated between ADDHM-Days1-28 and a reduction in the odds of sepsis and associated NICU costs after controlling for propensity score. For every HM dose increase of 10 mL/kg/d, the odds of sepsis decreased by 19%. NICU costs were lowest in the VLBW infants who received the highest ADDHM-Days1-28.

The feeding of human milk (milk from the infant's own mother; excluding donor milk) during the NICU stay reduces the risk of short-and long-term morbidities in premature infants, including: enteral feed intolerance; nosocomial infection; necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC); chronic lung disease (CLD); retinopathy of prematurity (ROP); developmental and neurocognitive delay; and rehospitalization after NICU discharge.1 -29 The mechanisms by which human milk provides this protection are varied and synergistic, and appear to change over the course of the NICU stay.30 , 31 In brief, these mechanisms include specific human milk components that are not present in the milk of other mammals, such the type and amount of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and digestible proteins, and the extraordinary number of oligosaccharides (approximately 130). 32 Human milk also contains multiple lines of undifferentiated stem cells, with the potential to impact a variety of health outcomes through the lifespan.33 Other human milk mechanisms change over the course of lactation in a manner that complements the infant's nutritional and protective needs. These mechanisms include immunological, anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, epigenetic, and mucosal membrane protecting properties.34 -41 Thus, human milk from the infant's mother cannot be replaced by commercial infant or donor human milk, and the feeding of human milk should be a NICU priority.Recent evidence suggests that the impact of human milk on improving infant health outcomes and reducing the risk of prematurity-specific morbidities appears to be linked to specific critical exposure periods in the post-birth period during which the exclusive use of human milk and the avoidance of commercial formula may be most important. 29-31, 42, 43 Similarly, there are other periods when high doses, but not necessarily exclusive use of human milk, may be important. This chapter will review the concept of "dose and exposure period" for human milk feeding in the NICU to precisely measure and benchmark the amount and timing of human milk use in the NICU. Similarly, the critical exposure periods when exclusive or high doses of human milk appear to have the greatest impact on specific

GV estimates calculated with 3 commonly used models varied widely, compared with actual GVs; however, the exponential model estimates were extremely accurate. The exponential model provides the accuracy and ease of use that are lacking in current methods applied to infant growth research.