AN ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES FOR PREDICTING LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT

We report results of an evaluation of two anthropometric surrogates, v iz chest circumference and mid-arm circumference, of birth weight. Opt imal criteria for predicting birth weight below 2000 g and below 2500 g were provided by use of chest circumference alone. However, even the best criterion was not very sensitive indicating that use of anthropo metric surrogates may have a limited practical value.