A319 CAPT CITES CONCERNS ABOUT THE IDENT AND DEFINITION OF 'HALF WEIGHT' PAX.

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I WAS ON DUTY AS THE CAPT OF A FULL FLT. WE HAD RECEIVED THE ACFT IN ZZZ1 LATE; AND HAD ARRIVED IN ZZZ 13 MINS LATE. WE DID NOT PUSH FROM THE ZZZ GATE FOR ANOTHER 68 MINS. ABOUT 20-25 MINS AFTER OUR SCHEDULED PUSH TIME; I WAS TOLD BY A CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVE THAT WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH 'HALF-WEIGHTS' AND THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE THE ACM. I WAS CONCERNED WITH THE ACCURACY OF THE WT AND BAL INFO AND I ASKED WHY WE WERE SUDDENLY TOO HVY. I WAS TOLD BY A DIFFERENT CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVE THAT AN UNEXPECTED NUMBER OF BAGS HAD BEEN LOADED; AND THAT WE NEEDED 11 HALF-WEIGHTS TO MAKE IT WORK -- WE CURRENTLY ONLY HAD 8. I WAS INFORMED BY THE FLT ATTENDANTS THAT THEY HAD COUNTED 11; AND I ASKED A CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVE TO REVIEW THE FLT ATTENDANT'S OBSERVATION (WHICH THEY CAN DO IF THEY OBSERVE A DISCREPANCY -- I AM NOT SURE IF THEY WERE ORIGINALLY ASKED TO DO A COUNT OR NOT BUT THEY HAD A NUMBER) BY GOING THROUGH THE CABIN WITH THEM AND VERIFYING EACH HALF-WEIGHT. A MIN LATER; THE CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVE SAID THAT THEY AGREED WITH 10; BUT NOT 11. I BELIEVED THAT THEY SIMPLY HAD A WT ESTIMATION ISSUE; AND I ASKED MY FLT ATTENDANTS IF THEY WERE CONFIDENT THAT THEY WERE INDEED ALL HALF-WEIGHTS. THEY ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. I TOLD THE CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVES THAT I HAD NO INTENTION OF OVERRIDING THEIR JUDGEMENT; AND THAT I WOULD PULL THE JUMPSEATER IN A HEARTBEAT IF THAT IS WHAT THEY WANTED; BUT THAT I WAS CONFIDENT OF MY SEASONED CREW AND THEIR COUNT. LOAD PLANNING WAS ADVISED; AND SAID THAT IT WAS MY CALL. I AGAIN TOLD THE CUSTOMER SVC REPRESENTATIVES THAT I WAS NOT TELLING THEM HOW TO DO THEIR JOB; AND THAT I WOULD DEFER TO THEM; BUT I HAD EVERY CONFIDENCE IN MY CREW. THEY AGREED WITH THE COUNT OF HALF-WEIGHTS AND WE DEPARTED. I WAS CALLED BY THE CHIEF PLT'S OFFICE AND ASKED TO EXPLAIN WHY THE ENTIRE DELAY HAD BEEN PUT ON THE CREW. I EXPLAINED WHAT HAD TRANSPIRED. IN EXPLAINING THE EVENT; I INDICATED THAT AFTER THE FLT IT WAS POSSIBLY INDICATED TO ME BY THE CREW THAT THE FLT ATTENDANTS MAY HAVE (I AM STILL NOT SURE) INCLUDED A PETITE ELDERLY WOMAN IN THEIR COUNT OF HALF-WEIGHTS. THE CHIEF PLT'S OFFICE MADE THE COMMENT THAT A HALF-WEIGHT COULD ONLY BE BTWN 2-12 YRS. THIS COMMENT LATER GOT ME LOOKING IN MY MANUALS; BECAUSE THE WT AND BAL PROGRAM HAS EVOLVED SO MANY TIMES THAT I WS VERY CONCERNED THAT I WAS MISTAKEN ABOUT WHO COULD BE A HALF-WEIGHT (CHILDREN; A LITTLE OLD LADY; ETC). I HAVE AND STILL DO THINK OF THE TERM HALF-WEIGHT AS APPLYING TO A PERSON WHO IS HALF THE STANDARD WT; REGARDLESS OF AGE. I ASKED SEVERAL FLT ATTENDANTS INFORMALLY; AND THEY UNANIMOUSLY BELIEVED THIS; TOO. UNFORTUNATELY; THE EXACT DEFINITION OF HALF-WEIGHT HAS BEEN LOST TO US IN THE EVOLUTION OF OUR WT AND BAL PROGRAM; AND IS APPARENTLY BEING EQUIVOCATED WITH THE TERM 'CHILD SAVINGS WT;' A TERM WHICH IS ONLY DEFINED IN OUR FOM INDUCTIVELY. IT MAY BE SAID THAT THESE REMOVALS WERE DUE TO THE SHIFT IN RESPONSIBILITY FOR DETERMINING THE COUNT -- HOWEVER; IT WE AS CAPTS ARE TO BE CONFIDENT IN THE LEGITIMACY OF A WT AND BAL RPT; WE SHOULD HAVE ACCURATE; UNAMBIGUOUS DEFINITIONS OF WHAT CONSTITUTES WHAT; WITHOUT HAVING TO INFER; OR WORSE; GUESS. EXACT DEFINITIONS OF WHAT A HALF-WEIGHT IS; WHAT A ZERO-WEIGHT IS; AND WHAT CAN BE INCLUDED UNDER THE CHILD SAVINGS LINE OF THE WT AND BAL PRINTOUT. FLT ATTENDANTS; IF THEY ARE TO BE ASKED TO ASSIST WITH THIS COUNT; MUST BE AWARE OF THESE DEFINITIONS; ALSO.