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EXERCISE NO. 4

ESTIMATING THE DESIRABLE BODY WEIGHT (DBW)

INTRODUCTION

Desirable body weight (DBW) depends on your gender, height, and body frame
size. Reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight is important for overall health. If a
person is overweight or obese, then he/she has higher risk of developing serious health
problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones,
breathing problems, and certain cancers.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the exercise, the students should be able to:

1. execute the proper procedure in measuring the weight and height of older
children and adults;
2. appreciate the significance of computing estimated desirable body weight (DBW);
and
3. calculate the Desirable Body Weight (DBW) or Ideal Body Weight (IBW) and its
corresponding percentage.

MATERIALS: Quantity

Platform Scale 1
Pen 1
Notebook 1
Calculator 1

PROCEDURE:

A. Find a partner and measure his/her weight and height following the steps
below;

Steps in Measuring Weight for Older Children and Adults

Weight should be taken preferably after the bladder has been emptied
and before a meal. The time at which the measurement is made should be
noted because of diurnal variations in weight occur.

1. The scale should be placed on hard flat surface and should be checked
for zero-balance before each use and whenever it is moved to another
location.

2. The subject should stand unassisted, in the center of the platform, and be
asked to look straight ahead, standing relaxed but still preferably nude. If
this is not possible, the subject should wear light underclothing or asked
to remove his accessories such as belt, watch and other accessories,
shoes or sandals and slippers. The weight of the garments should be
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recorded for later subtraction. Standard correction for clothing should not
be used.

3. Any signs of visible edema should be noted.

4. Body weight should be recorded to the nearest 0.1 kg

Steps in Measuring for Older Children and Adults

1. Ask the subject to stand looking straight ahead with Frankfurt plane
horizontal, feet together, knees straight and heels, buttocks and shoulder
blades in contact with the vertical surface of the stadiometer,
anthropometer or wall.

2. The arms of the subject should be hanging loosely at the sides with palms
facing the thighs. The head is not necessarily in contact with the vertical
surface.

3. Ask the subject to take a deep breath and stand tall to aid the
straighthening of the spine. Shoulders should be relaxed.

4. The movable rod is then gently lowered until it touches the crown of the
head.

5. The height measurement is taken in maximum inspiration, with the

examiner’s eye level with the headboard to avoid parallax error. Height is
recorded to the nearest millimeter. If the reading falls between within five
millimeters (Lohman et. al., 1988).

The time at which the measurement is made should be noted because

diurnal variations in height occur. In cases where large amount of adipose
tissue prevent the heels, buttocks and shoulders from simultaneously
touching he wall, subjects should simply be asked to stand erect (Chumlea
et.al., 1984). (Modified from Nutritional Assessment A Laboratory Manual by
Rosalind S. Gibson 1993)

B. Record the above data and compute the estimated Desirable Body Weight
using any of the formula below;

i. Tannhauser’s Method
The height should be in centimeter. Deduct from this factor 100 and the answer
is the DBW in kilogram. The DBW obtained applies to Filipino stature by taking
off 10%.

DBW Kg = (Height in centimeter – 100) – 10%

ii. “Adopted Method”

This method is an adoption of Tannhauser’s formula.

For 5ft. Use 106 Ibs. For every inch above 5 ft, add 5 Ibs.
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iii. NDAP Formula

NDAP method for estimating DBW

 For adult females, allow 106 Ibs for 5 ft. height. For each additional inch,
add 4 Ibs.
 For adult males, use 112 Ibs for 5 ft. height and add 4 lbs for each
additional inch taller.

The values above apply to adults with medium frame. To adjust for frame, deduct
10% for small frame and add 10% for large frame.

Examples:
For an adult female, with a height of 5 ft., 6 inches
106 lbs plus 24 lbs = 136 lbs DBW

For adult male of the same height

112 lbs plus 24 lbs = 136 lbs DBW

Note: For every inch short of 5 feet, subtract 4 lbs. So an adult woman with a
height of 4 ft., 10 inches has a DBW of 98 lbs (106 lbs minus 8 lbs = 98 lbs),
while an adult man of the same height has a DBW of 104 lbs (112 lbs minus 8
lbs = 104 lbs).

Source: Ruiz, A. and Claudio, V.2010. Basic Nutrition for Filipinos, 6th ed.

iv. Hamwi Method

IBW for males = 106 pounds for 5 feet plus 6 pounds per inch above 5 feet
IBW for females = 100 pounds for 5 feet plus 5 pounds per inch over 5 feet

Add 10% for large frame. Subtract 10% for small frame.

Note: There are other formula used in computing the estimated DBW of an adult
such as Body Mass Index Based Formulation, Ador Dionisio’s Method and
Dr. Fernando’s Method.
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C. Compute the percent of IBW or DBW

Current Weight
Percent of IBW x 100
Ideal Weight

A weight of 20% or more above ideal weight due to accumulation of body

fat is an indication of obesity but those individual that are engage with sports and
other physical activities who could be overweight but developed lean muscles are
not obese (Ruiz et.al, 2010).

% IBW CLASSIFICATION
>200 Morbidly Obese
150-200 Severely Obese
120-149 Obese
110-119 Overweight
90-109 Normal
80-89 Mildly Underweight
70-79 Moderately Underweight
<70 Severely Underweight

Estimating DBW for Infant and Children

Infants:AS
FORMULA I
a. First 6 months:
DBW (gms) = Birth weight (gms) + (age in months x 600)

b. 7 to 12 months:
DBW (g ms) = Birth weight (gms) + (age in months x 500)
**If birth weight is not known, use 3000 gms
FORMULA II
DBW (kg) = (age in months/2) + 3

Children: DBW (kg) = (Age in years x 2) + 8

(Adopted from NDAP Diet Manual, 2010)

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NAME: _______________________________ SCORE: _________

COURSE: ____________________________ LAB SCHEDULE: _____________

RESULTS:

Date: _______________

NAME WEIGHT HEIGHT IBW/ % IBW CLASSIFICATION

(kg) (cm) DBW
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

COMPUTATIONS:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
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QUESTIONS:

1. Why is it necessary to perform the proper procedure in measuring the weight and
height of older children and adults?

When taking scientific measurements, it is important to be both accurate and

precise. Accuracy represents how close a measurement comes to its true value.
This is important because bad equipment, poor data processing or human error
can lead to inaccurate results that may lead to wrong or even dangerous
conclusions or results.

2. In computing the estimated Desirable Body Weight, which of the given methods
are you comfortable using? Why?

I was comfortable using the Tannhauser’s Method. Because the only variable
that was missing is the Height (in cm). You’ll only need to substitute the height
and the DBW in kilogram will be obtained. In addition, most Filipino’s are familiar
with metric measurement (kg) rather than imperial measurement (lb).

3. As a student with a course related to nutrition, what is the role of DBW estimation
in general?

As a student with a course related to nutrition, calculating my future patients’

estimated DBW is a must because them keeping a healthy body weight can
reduce their risk for many health problems. Also, DBW estimation is vital as it is
frequently used clinically to adjust drug dosing,
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CONCLUSION:

RECOMMENDATION(S):

REFERENCES:

GIBSON, R. 1993. Nutritional Assessment A Laboratory Manual. University of Michigan

Press.

RUIZ, A. and CLAUDIO, V. 2010. Basic Nutrition for Filipinos, 6 th ed. Merriam & Webster
Bookstore, Inc. Metro Manila, Philippines.
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NUTRITIONIST-DIETITIAN’ ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (NDAP). 2010. Diet

Manual, 5th ed.