Impact of Estimated Weight and Height on Nutritional Assessment in Elderly

Recording the exact weight and height should represent a standard practice for all inpatients, as they significantly impact on patients' care, drug dosing and nutritional assessment.

However, these measurements are recorded in a small percentage of inpatients and, even worse, they often are estimated by nurses or Physicians, or self-reported by patients. This error may contribute to a wrong nutritional assessment, since the body mass index (BMI) is one of the parameters included in some of the most used nutritional scores.

In this study the investigators will perform a nutritional assessement, at hospital admission, in a group of inpatients by the mini-nutritional assessment short form (MNA-SF), by means of estimated, self-reported and exact body weight measures.

Moreover, in those subjects with a malnutrition diagnosis (by MNA-SF) the investigators will perform bioimpedence analysis and will evaluate a series of anthropometric measurements offering insights into body composition and distribution of fat and muscle, such as calf, waist and hip circumference.

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Key information

Conditions

Nutrition Assessment

Age range

65 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Patients of both sexes with free and informed consent.
Age 65 or older (in line with the World Health Organization definition and the recommendations of the ESPEN guidelines for geriatric nutritional assessment).

Exclusion criteria

Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent.
Severe cognitive impairment.
Language or communication barriers.
Clinical or logistical conditions that make objective measurement of weight and/or height impossible (e.g., non-transferable bedridden status, clinical instability, risk to the patient).
Clinical judgment of unsuitability, at the discretion of the physician responsible for the study

Treatment and study plan

Anthropometric and nutritional assessment

Diagnostic Test

Collection of self-reported weight and height, the exact measurement of weight and height with certified instruments, the administration of the MNA-SF questionnaire and the detection of body circumferences

Primary outcomes

To assess the impact of discrepancies between estimated weight values reported in the medical record and those exactly measured

Time frame: At admission

Comparison among estimated (by nurses), self-reported (by patients) and exact body weight measures in kilograms (by nurses and physicians).
To assess the impact of discrepancies between estimated height values reported in the medical record and those exactly measured

Time frame: At admission

Comparison among estimated (by nurses), self-reported (by patients) and exact height measures in centimeters (by nurses and physicians).
Differences in MNA-SF scores

Time frame: At admission

Comparison among MNA-SF scores obtained using estimated, self-reported and exact weight measures in kilograms.

Secondary outcomes

Number of patients with a diagnosis of sarcopenia by both bioimpedance and anthropometric analysis

Time frame: At admission

Evaluation of the diagnosis of sarcopenia through the comparison between bioimpedance analysis (measured in %) and anthropometric measurements (calf, hip, waist, measured in cm).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Accuracy of Estimated Weight and Height in Old Inpatients and Their Impact on Nutritional Assessment

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: Apr 7, 2026
Registry last updated: Apr 7, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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