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Body weight status of school adolescents in Terengganu, Malaysia: a population baseline study

Ahmad A 1 , Zulaily N 2 , Abdul Manan NS 3 , Shahril MR 4 , Syed Saadun Tarek Wafa SW 4 , Mohd Amin R 5 Show all authors , Syed Abdullah EF 3 , Ahmed A 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute for Community Development & Quality of Life, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia. aryatiahmad@unisza.edu.my
  • 2 Institute for Community Development & Quality of Life, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Informatics & Computing, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Tembila Campus, 22200, Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 4 Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 5 Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Medical Campus, 20400, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 6 Institute of Engineering Mathematics, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Pauh Putra Campus, 02600, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
BMC Public Health, 2017 01 05;17(1):9.
PMID: 28056904 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3911-2

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Body weight is highly associated with overall health status. Being severely thin or obese may impose the risk of many health problems. Early detection of body mass index (BMI) status may help to reduce the associated comorbidities. Although many studies in the literature have investigated the BMI of school adolescents in Malaysia, the data on status of body weight among school adolescents in suburban states like Terengganu is limited. This study aimed to describe the body weight status of the whole population of school adolescents in all seven districts in Terengganu, Malaysia.

METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated and classified using WHO BMI-for-age Z-score. Data was obtained using the National Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessment, which was uploaded in a specific Health Monitoring System (HEMS).

RESULTS: From a total of 62,567 school adolescents, 50.7% were boys and 49.3% were girls. Girls had significantly higher BMI than boys in age groups of 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 years old. Among boys and girls, there were significant differences in mean BMI of school adolescents between rural and urban school locations in all age groups (p 

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

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