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Psychological Factors and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors as Mediators of the Relationship between Overweight/Obesity and Cognitive Function among School Children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tung SEH, Mohd Nasir MT, Chin YS, Zalilah MS, Zubaidah JO, Yim HS

Child Obes, 2019 01;15(1):56-62.
PMID: 30339034 DOI: 10.1089/chi.2018.0066

BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that a negative relationship exists between adiposity and cognitive function in children. However, limited information is known on how they are related. This study aimed to examine the mediators of the relationship between overweight/obesity and cognitive function among school children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional comparison study whereby 225 overweight/obese children matched for age, sex, and ethnicity with 225 normal weight children participated in this study. Body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms were assessed through a self-administered questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured, whereas blood was drawn to determine insulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), glucose, and lipid profiles. Homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated using glucose and insulin levels. Wechsler's Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) was used to assess cognitive function in children. Ordinary least square regression analysis was conducted to determine the direct and indirect relationships between weight status and cognitive function.
RESULTS: A negative relationship was found between overweight/obesity with cognitive function. Overweight/obese children were on average 4.075 units lower in cognitive function scores compared to normal weight children. Such difference was found through mediators, such as body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating, depression, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, HOMA-IR, and hs-CRP, contributing 22.2% of the variances in cognitive function in children.
CONCLUSION: Results highlight the important mediators of the relationship between overweight/obesity and cognitive function. Consequently, future interventions should target to improve psychological well-being and reduce cardiovascular disease risk for the prevention of poorer cognitive performance in overweight/obese children.
Recent advances on the sustainable approaches for conversion and reutilization of food wastes to valuable bioproducts

Ng HS, Kee PE, Yim HS, Chen PT, Wei YH, Chi-Wei Lan J

Bioresour Technol, 2020 Apr;302:122889.
PMID: 32033841 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122889

The increasing amounts of food wastage and accumulation generated per annum due to the growing human population worldwide often associated with environmental pollution issues and scarcity of natural resources. In view of this, science community has worked towards in finding sustainable approaches to replace the common practices for food waste management. The agricultural and food processing wastes rich in nutrients are often the attractive substrates for the bioconversion for valuable bioproducts such as industrial enzymes, biofuel and bioactive compounds. The sustainable approaches on the re-utilization of food wastes as the industrial substrates for production of valuable bioproducts has meet the goals of circular bioeconomy, results in the diversify applications and increasing market demands for the bioproducts. This review discusses the current practice and recent advances on reutilization of food waste for bioconversion of valuable bioproducts from agricultural and food processing wastes.
Fulltext Risk factors for low birth weight among rural and urban Malaysian women

Kaur S, Ng CM, Badon SE, Jalil RA, Maykanathan D, Yim HS, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2019 Jun 13;19(Suppl 4):539.
PMID: 31196034 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6864-4

BACKGROUND: Low birth weight prevalence in Malaysia remains high. Socioeconomic background may lead to differences in physical activity and maternal nutritional status, which may play an important role in birth outcomes.
METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to identify rural-urban differences in risk factors for low birth weight among women in Malaysia. Pregnant women at ≥20 weeks of gestation in urban and rural Malaysia (n = 437) completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity. Weight and middle-upper arm circumference were measured. Infant birth outcomes were extracted from medical records.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of low birth weight infants was 6.38%. Rural women had more low birth weight infants than urban women (9.8% vs 2.0%, p = 0.03). Findings showed rural women were less sedentary (p = 0.003) and participated in more household/caregiving activities (p = 0.036), sports activities (p = 0.01) and less occupational activity (p
Socioeconomic Status and Glycemic Index Among Punjabis in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Possible Association with Metabolic Syndrome

Kaur S, Yim HS, Abdul Jalil R, Mohd-Yusof BN, Jan Mohamed HJ

J Immigr Minor Health, 2018 Dec;20(6):1380-1386.
PMID: 29603090 DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0731-8

There are only limited reports on Punjabi's health status in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (Mets) and its risk factors among 277 subjects recruited from the Malaysian Punjabi community. Overall prevalence of Mets was 43%, but 61% among females. Subjects classified with Mets had significantly (p
Surfactant as an Additive for the Recovery of Potent Antioxidants from Garcinia mangostana Pericarps Using a Polymer/Salt Aqueous Biphasic System

Ng HS, Kee PE, Tan GY, Yim HS, Lan JC

Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2020 May;191(1):273-283.
PMID: 32335865 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-020-03284-z

Garcinia mangostana pericarp is a good source of natural antioxidants with numerous functional properties. The conventional approaches for the recovery of antioxidants from Garcinia mangostana pericarp require long processing time and high temperature, which may cause degradation or loss of bioactivity of antioxidants, and often result in low recovery efficiency. In this study, the extraction of antioxidants from Garcinia mangostana pericarp was investigated using a polyethylene glycol (PEG)/citrate aqueous biphasic system (ABS) with the addition of surfactants. The optimum condition for the recovery of antioxidants was achieved in PEG 1000/citrate ABS of pH 8 with tie-line length (TLL) of 48.3% (w/w), volume ratio (VR) of 1.6, 0.2% (w/w) sample loading and addition of 1.0% (w/w) Tween 85. The antioxidants were recovered in the PEG-rich top phase with a high K value of 18.23 ± 0.33 and a recovery yield of 92.01% ± 0.09. The findings suggested that the addition of surfactants to polymer/salt ABS can enhance the recovery of antioxidants from Garcinia mangostana pericarps by conserving the antioxidative properties.