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Distribution of body weight, height and body mass index in a national sample of Malaysian adults

Lim TO 1 , Ding LM 2 , Zaki M 3 , Suleiman AB 4 , Fatimah S 5 , Siti S 5 Show all authors , Tahir A 6 , Maimunah AH 7

Affiliations 

  • 1 T O Lim, MRCP. Clinical Research Centre, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
  • 2 L M Ding, MHA. Clinical Research Centre, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
  • 3 M Zaki, FRCP. Department of Nephrology, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
  • 4 Abu Bakar Suleiman, FRACP. Department of Nephrology, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
  • 5 Institut Kesihatan Umum, Kuala Lumpur
  • 6 A Tahir, MPH. Institut Kesihatan Umum, Kuala Lumpur
  • 7 A H Maimunah, MPH. Institut Kesihatan Umum, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
Med J Malaysia, 2000 Mar;55(1):108-28.
PMID: 11072496 MyJurnal

Abstract

We describe the distribution of body weight, height and body mass index (BMI) by age, sex and ethnicity in Malaysian adults. A national sample of 28,737 individuals aged 20 or older had usable data. They were selected by stratified 2-stage cluster sampling. Percentile tables and curves by age, sex and ethnicity are presented. The body weight and BMI distributions were right skewed, while that of height was symmetrical. BMI distribution showed the expected increase with age, while that of height decrease with age. Differences in BMI between the 2 sexes and among the 4 ethnic groups were observed. Indian had the highest BMI, followed by Malay, Chinese and other indigenous ethnic group.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-1996)

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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