Affiliations 

  • 1 Universiti Putra Malaysia
Malays J Nutr, 2011;17(3):315-324.
MyJurnal

Abstract

Introduction: This study was conducted on 215 working women from four private corporate companies in a suburb in Malaysia to determine the factors related to their physical activity levels. Methods: Data were collected using a questionnaire which included socio-demographic characteristics, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), perceived barriers and benefits to physical activity, self-efficacy to physical activity and an 8-item questionnaire on current
behavioral stage of physical activity. Results: The majority of the respondents were Malay (81.9%) with 10.2% being Chinese and 7.9% Indian. Most of the respondents were executives (64.2%), while the rest were non-executives (24.7%) and managers (11.2%). The mean weight, height, BMI and waist circumference were 59.4±13.1 kg, 1.6±0.6 m, 23.7±4.8 kg/m² and 77.0±12.1cm respectively. In this sample, 24.7% and 7.9% were overweight and obese respectively, while 34%
were at risk of abdominal obesity. A total of 28.8% of the respondents had low physical activity level, while 48.8% and 22.3% were in the moderate and high physical activity categories respectively. An association was found between monthly income (χ2=110.17; p