In the field of human energy expenditure, the measurement of basal metabolic rate (BMR) is an essential element to derive energy requirement estimates for any given population. Besides basic anthropometrics data, this paper reports the generation of predictive equation for basal metabolic rates of healthy Malaysian adult from prospective measurements on 307 male and 349 females aged 18-60 years, using the Douglas bag technique. These new equations based on body-weight reveal that the current FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations overestimate BMR of adult Malaysian by an average of 13% in males and 9% in female subjects while differences of between 4-5% were observed when compared to Henry and Rees (1991) equations for tropical people. There is a good reason to believe that the capacity to slow down metabolism amidst the hot and humid climate experience throughout the year as a genuine phenomenon for Malaysians. Similarly, these findings suggest that at equal energy intake recommendation for similar body weight, the lower energy needs of Malaysian could put them at greater risk for developing obesity. These observed deviations must be taken into account in formulating energy requirements of the population.
Body composition was assessed in a group of 344 free-living elderly between 60 and 89 years by means of anthropometry. The height, weight and body mass indexes of the elderly were reduced with advancing age in both the males and females. Skinfold thickness measurements also declined with age. Overall, the female elderly had a greater tricep skinfold thickness but smaller mid-arm circumferences, mid-arm muscle circumference and mid-arm muscle area compared to the male.
In the field of human energy expenditure, the measurement of basal metabolic rate (BMR) is an essential element to derive energy requirement estimates for any given population. Besides basic anthropometrics data, this paper reports the generation of predictive equation for basal metabolic rates of healthy Malaysian adult from prospective measurements on 307 male and 349 females aged 18-60 years, using the Douglas bag technique. These new equations based on body-weight reveal that the current FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations overestimate BMR of adult Malaysian by an average of 13% in males and 9% in female subjects while differences of between 4-5% were observed when compared to Henry & Rees (1991) equations for tropical people. There is a good reason to believe that the capacity to slow down metabolism amidst the hot and humid climate experience throughout the year as a genuine phenomenon for Malaysians. Similarly, these findings suggest that at equal energy intake recommendation for similar body weight, the lower energy needs of Malaysian could put them at greater risk for developing obesity. These observed deviations must be taken into account in formulating energy requirements of the population.
Rapid and marked socioeconomic advancements in Malaysia for the past two decades have brought about significant changes in the lifestyles of communities. These include significant changes in the dietary patterns of Malaysians, eg the increase in consumption of fats and oils and refined carbohydrates and a decreased intake of complex carbohydrates. This resulted in a decline in the proportion of energy from carbohydrates, while an increase in the percentage contribution of fat has been observed. Changes in meal patterns are also evident: more families eat out, busy executives skip meals, the younger generation miss breakfasts and rely too much on fast foods. Many Malaysians have the mistaken belief that the taking of vitamin and mineral supplements can make up for the lack of these nutrients in their daily diets. In addition, communities have become generally more sedentary. All these changes have brought about undesirable effects with significant proportions of the affluent segments of the population being afflicted with various non-communicable diseases associated with overnutrition, namely obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease and cancers. Nutrition activities and programmes are now being directed to tackle this increasing trend, whilst still attempting to eliminate the undernutrition problems. The ultimate strategy towards achieving a healthy nation is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including inculcating a culture of healthy eating. Comprehensive long term programmes, including a series of Healthy Lifestyle (HLS) Programmes have been carried out by the government. Launched in 1991 for six consecutive years, the first phase of the Programme comprised one thematic campaign each year, commencing with coronary heart disease and ending with diabetes mellitus. To further strengthen this long-term strategy, another series of activities to be carried out under the second phase of the HLS programme from 1997 to 2002 was launched within the framework of the National Plan of Action on Nutrition (NPAN) for Malaysia. The implementation of these programmes is, however, a challenge to health and nutrition workers. There is a need to examine the strategies for nutrition education to ensure more effective dissemination of information. The challenge is to determine how best to promote healthy eating within the present scenerio of rapid urbanisation, "western" dietary pattern influence, a whole barrage of convenience and "health" foods and nutrition misinformation. Malaysia continues to march ahead with its development plans to elevate the nation and its people to an even higher level of socio-economic status. The crucial question is: are we able to arrest the increase in these diet-related chronic diseases ? Or are we heading towards further deterioration in dietary pattern and increase in these diseases ? It will be a difficult and challenging journey ahead, requiring the concerted effort of all in the country. It is hoped that through this conference of sharing experiences with other Asian countries, a better understanding and improved strategies could be arrived at.
The effect of oven drying at 50ᵒC ± 1ᵒC for 9 hour, 70ᵒC ± 1ᵒC for 5 hour and freeze drying on retention of chlorophyll, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid and carotenoids in herbal preparation consisting of 8 medicinal plants was evaluated. The medicinal plants selected were leaves of Apium graveolens (saderi), Averrhoa bilimbi (belimbing buluh), Centella asiatica (pegaga), Mentha arvensis (pudina), Psidium guajava (jambu batu), Sauropus androgynous (cekor manis), Solanum nigrum (terung meranti) and Polygonum minus (kesum ). Results revealed that both type and conditions of the drying treatments affected retention of all phytochemicals analysed. Herbal preparation developed using oven drying was found to have inferior phytochemicals content compared to that obtained by freeze dryer. Nevertheless, the herbal preparation developed using all treatments still retain appreciable amount of phytochemicals studied, especially carotenoids, ascorbic acid, niacin and riboflavin and thus have potential for commercial purposes.
In a biological system the product of free-radical induced-lipid peroxidation are conjugated dienes (CDs), lipid peroxides and malondialdehyde (MDA). Its control depends on antioxidant activities. Antioxidant defend the body system by controlling the damage caused by the free radicals. This paper describes lipid peroxidation process and antioxidant activities present in three species of holothuroid obtained from the coastal waters of Terengganu, Malaysia. Among the three species studied, the coelomic fluid of Bohadschia mamorata vitiensis contained the highest level of protein (7.24 + 0.04)g/L. The coelomic fluid of Stichopus badionotus Selenka contained the highest level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (9.46 + 0.99)X 105 IU/g protein, MDA (16.46 + 1.28)nmol/g protein and total antioxidant activities (AOA) (58.81 + 5.70) %. In Stichopus variegatus Semper the coelomic fluid only demonstrated the highest level of CDs (94.19 + 11.34) RU/g protein compared with the other two species. This preliminary study indicated that some form of antioxidant activities are present in the coelomic fluid of holothuroids.
The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary intake of University Putra Malaysia students using the weighed record method and the 24 hour-dietary recall method. The validity of the 24-hour recall method was studied by comparing it with the weighed record method. A total of 40 male and 25 female students age between 18-29 years volunteered to participate in this study. All the subjects were required to weigh and record the foods they ate for 1 day. Without prior knowledge of the purpose of the visit , the 24-hour recall was carried out the following day. The nutrients analysed were calorie, carbohydrates, protein, fat, calcium, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. Comparisons of the nutrient intake between these two methods were determined. The paired t-test indicated no significant difference in group's mean nutrient intake between the weighed record method for all nutrients. The differences in group mean intake for all nutrients between weighed record and 24-hour recall method ranged from -3% to 3.6%. A total of 4 nutrients were underestimated, namely energy, protein, vitamin C and iron. The correlation coefficients showed a strong positive relationships between the two methods (ranged from r = 0.88-0.98, p < 0.01) for all of the nutrients analysed. In conclusion, the agreement between nutrient values from two different methods indicated that the 24 hour recall is a suitable method for the dietary assessment of university students.
This comparative study was conducted to determine the anthropometric measurements and body composition of football teams in the UK and Malaysia. A total of 32 footballers from two teams were studied. The teams were the St Mary's University team (UK) and the Selangor Reserved League team. The height and body weight of the subjects were measured using SECA digital balance with height attachment. Skinfold thickness measurements were taken using Harpenden skinfold callipers at four sites (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac) and the VO2max of the subjects was estimated by participation in a multi-stage 20m shuttle-run test. The UK team were significantly heavier (p<0.05), taller (p<0.05) and had a higher body fat content (p<0.05) than their Malaysian counterpart. There was no significant difference in VO2 max between the two teams, with the Malaysians recording a slightly higher VO2 max. With regard to playing position, the defenders were found to be the most physically robust and yet had the highest VO2 max, whilst the midfielders had the lightest body weights. More data on the body composition and nutritional status of Malaysian footballers would allow adjustments to be made to dietary intakes and training levels in order to obtain maximum performance throughout the football season.
Bifidobacteria is a well known bacteria that is found in abundance in the intestine of infants which provides several health and nutritional benefits. Realizing the many benefits of bifidobacteria to human, this study has been conducted with the objective to determine the growth promotional effect of different types of milk and milk proteins on Bifidobacterium species. One strains of Bifiodobacterium species that is B. infantis was used to study the growth promoting effect of human milk, cow's milk, goat's milk, milk based infant formula, soy-based infant formula, lactoferrin (1 mg/ml), lactoperoxidase (1p~g/ml), lysozyme (1 mg/ml) and the mixture of these three proteins. The growth promotion assay was done using the 96-well culture plates which consists of 200 (1 Trypticase-Peptone-Yeast extract (TPY) medium, 50 4 sample and 10 1il of bacteria inoculum. Control consists of PBS instead of the samples. The assay was incubated anaerobically at 370C for 18 hours before being spread on the agar plate containing TPY medium with agar. Comparison was made between the mean count (log cfu/ml) of different types of milks, between infant formula and between milk proteins. From the results, Oneway ANOVA test at P<0.05 showed that there was significant differences in the mean counts (log cfu/ml) between the milks (P = 0.0000). A similar trend was observed in the mean count (log cfu/mI) between the infant formulas (P = 0.0 124) and also between the milk proteins (P = 0.0005). Duncan Multiple Range tests showed that there was significant differences between all the milks and control and among the milks themselves. There was however, no significant difference among the two types of infant formulas. The milk proteins also showed significant differences between the proteins and control and among themselves except for lysozyme which showed no significant differences with lactoferrin. This study showed that the growth of B. infantis could be promoted by different kinds of milks and milk proteins in vitro. Comparing the differences in growth promoting effect between samples and control indicated that human milk has the highest growth promoting effect followed by cow's milk and the mixture of the three milk prtoeins. Lysozyme showed the lowest in term of differences in percentage of growth promoting effect among all these samples. In conclusion the findings of this study supported that human milk ios the best milk choice for infant in comparison to other types of milk in promoting the growth of bifidobacteria. In additon, this tudy also found that milk protein when used in combination may show better growth promoiotive effect than when used singly.
Iron absorption is essential for the maintenance of iron levels in the body, since excretion is poorly regulated. Dietary factors can influence iron absorption including low molecular weight substances such as ascorbic acid which has been shown to enhance iron transport across mucosal cell monolayers. Both in vivo and in vitro work may be carried out to study iron absorption. Studies in vivo have the drawback of dealing with a complex system in which it is difficult to determine the relative importance of different factors. In vitro cell culture models could overcome this difficulty but attempts to establish differentiated enterocyte cell lines in culture have not been successful. However the Caco-2 line, derived from a colon carcinoma, is able to differentiate spontaneously when grown in standard culture conditions. The differentiated cells polarized, formed microvilli and T-junctions associated with the duodenal enterocytes brush border. This cell line thus represents an appropriate model for the study of transport mechanisms related to the intestinal barrier and can be used to study the absorption of nutrients especially iron in relation to dietary intake in particular pertaining to dietary factors that may affect absorption. In this work we have therefore used differentiated Caco-2 cells grown in bicameral chambers as a intestinal cell model to study the absorption of iron from different sources and compared it with INT 407 cells. Transfer of iron across the monolayers in the apical-to-basolateral direction has been found to be greater from feric lactoferrin than from iron citrate, while very little transport occurred from Fe-transferrin. It is concluded that in this in vitro study lactoferrin but not transferrin enhances mucosal iron transport. More importanty this study has also shown that Caco-2 can be used as an in vitro method to investigate not only iron bioavailability but can be applied to other minerals as well.
A longitudinal study was conducted to relate basal metabolic rate (BMR) with growth during adolescence. Subjects comprise 70 boys and 69 girls aged between ten and thirteen years at the time of recruitment. Parameters studied include anthropometric measurements and BMR, which was measured by indirect calorimetry using the Deltatrac metabolic monitor. Measurements were carried out serially once every six months, with a total of 713 BMR data points collected over three years. Mean BMR of boys aged 11, 12, 13 and 14 years were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.28 ± 0.71 MJ/day, 5.73 ± 0.68 MJ/day and 5.92 ± 0.63 MJ/day, respectively; while mean BMR of girls in the 10, 11, 12 and 13 year age groups were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 4.85 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.05 ± 0.55 MJ/day and 4.94 ± 0.51 MJ/day, respectively. Comparison of measured BMR with BMR values predicted from the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) equations shows that the predictive equations overestimated the BMR of Malaysian boys by 3% and that of girls by 5%. The Henry and Rees (1991) equations for populations in the tropics underestimated BMR of boys and girls by 1% and 2%, respectively. Linear regression equations to predict BMR based on body weight were derived according to sex and age groups. It is recommended that these predictive equations be used for the estimation of BMR of Malaysian adolescents.
A longitudinal study was conducted to relate basal metabolic rate (BMR) with growth during adolescence. Subjects comprise 70 boys and 69 girls aged between ten and thirteen years at the time of recruitment. Parameters studied include anthropometric measurements and BMR, which was measured by indirect calorimetry using the Deltatrac metabolic monitor. Measurements were carried out serially once every six months, with a total of 713 BMR data points collected over three years. Mean BMR of boys aged 11, 12, 13 and 14 years were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.28 ± 0.71 MJ/day, 5.73 ± 0.68 MJ/day and 5.92 ± 0.63 MJ/day, respectively; while mean BMR of girls in the 10, 11, 12 and 13 year age groups were 4.96 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 4.85 ± 0.63 MJ/day, 5.05 ± 0.55 MJ/day and 4.94 ± 0.51 MJ/day, respectively. Comparison of measured BMR with BMR values predicted from the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) equations shows that the predictive equations overestimated the BMR of Malaysian boys by 3% and that of girls by 5%. The Henry & Rees (1991) equations for populations in the tropics underestimated BMR of boys and girls by 1% and 2%, respectively. Linear regression equations to predict BMR based on body weight were derived according to sex and age groups. It is recommended that these predictive equations be used for the estimation of BMR of Malaysian adolescents.
This comparative study was conducted to determine the anthropometric measurements and body composition of football teams in the UK and Malaysia. A total of 32 footballers from two teams were studied. The teams were the St Mary’s University team (UK) and the Selangor Reserved League team. The height and body weight of the subjects were measured using SECA digital balance with height attachment. Skinfold thickness measurements were taken using Harpenden skinfold callipers at four sites (biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac) and the VO2 max of the subjects was estimated by participation in a multi-stage 20m shuttle-run test. The UK team were significantly heavier (p
This study was carried out to determine the nutritional status of 16 elite netball players of the Commonwealth Games 1998, during centralised training at Bukit Jalil. The mean age of the subjects was 21.1 ± 3.1 year. The physical characteristics were assessed through antropometric measurements. The dietary intake was estimated as a mean of 3-days weighed food record while the physical activity pattern was determined by time and motion study which was carried out simultaneously. A biochemical analysis test was carried out to evaluate the haemoglobin status of the athletes. The results indicated that the mean body weight and height were 62.5 ± 7.9 kg and 1.69 ± 0.06 meter, respectively. The percentage average body fat of the subjects was 23.7 ± 2.8. Mean energy intake was recorded as 2726 ± 507 kcal/day while energy expenditure was 3225 ± 409 kcal/d with a negative energy balance of 499 kcal. The contribution of calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat were 59%, 16% and 26%, respectively. Intake of most micronutrients was sufficient and met the Malaysian RDA. The percentage average of the daily physical activity pattern revealed that 74% was spent for light activities, 12% for moderate while 14% for heavy activities. 94% of the athletes took supplements which vitamin C was the most popular (64%).
Growth status was examined in relation to gender and age factors in urban primary school children (6-10 years old) from low income households in Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan. The sample consisted of 4212 boys (53%) and 3793 girls (47%). Data on weight and height data were obtained from two sources - investigator's and teachers' measurements of the school children. This study defined mildly and significantly underweight, stunted or wasted as z-score below minus one and below minus two of the NCHS/CDC reference median, respectively. Approximately 52% (n = 4149), 50% (n = 3893) and 30% (n = 2568) of the school children were underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively. However, the majority of these undernourished children were in the mild category. Prevalence of overweight (> 2 SD of NCHS/WHO reference median) was found in 5.8% of the sample. For both, prevalence of undernutrition and overnutrition, more boys than girls were found to be underweight stunted wasted and overweight. Compared to girls, boys had lower mean z-scores for the variables height-for-age (p<0.05) and weight-for-height (p<0.01). Older children had significantly lower mean z-scores for height-for-age (p<0.001) but higher mean z-scores for weight-for-height (P<0.001) than younger children. This finding indicates that with increasing age, stunting is associated with improved weight-for-height or that the children's weights have been adapted to their short statures. In conclusion, results demonstrate a high prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting and an increasing prevalence of overweight among these low-income school children. Efforts recommended to address health and nutrition problems among school children should include health and nutrition monitoring (e.g. growth monitoring using the existing growth data collected by schools) and interventions.
This study was conducted to evaluate the implementation of the School Supplement Feeding Program (SSFP) among primary school in terms of financial management and budget disbursement, food preparation, selection of menus and nutrient content of food served. A total of 129 schools comprising 77 national type, 31 Chinese and 21 Tamil vernacular schools in four different regions (northern, eastern, central and southern) of Peninsular Malaysia were selected for this study. The results of this cross-sectional study showed a need to improve the budget disbursement to schools. Most of the schools followed the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education for selection of eligible children. The quality of food prepared by contracted (local community members) and voluntary (teachers) operators. The use of 10 recommended menus provided for a 2-week cycle by most of the schools has shown increased acceptance and less monotonous feeling towards the food among the children. Nutrient content of food served increased relatively with an increase in budget from RM0.45 to RM0.80 per child. Parents surveyed indicated that the program should continue as this will keep children from low income families from being hungry during school hours. A continued process of monitoring and evaluation is necessary to improve its implementation.
Thirty-two samples of chocolate products were analysed by HPLC for caffeine and theobromine contents. Defatted residues of samples were extracted with 80% aqueous acetone. After extraction into boiling water, the methylxanthines were identified and quantified with the use of μ-Bondapak column and mobile phase of methanol:water:acetic acid (20:79:1). Levels of caffein and theobromine in 32 samples of chocolate products averaged 0.62-1.14 mg/g and 0.026-0.153 mg/g respectively. Mean values for theobromine and caffeine content for chocolate coating were 0.82 and 0.07 mg/g respectively. The chocolate coating made from fat substitute had theobromine and caffeine levels ranging from 0.36-0.70 mg/g and 0.027-0.061 mg/g respectively, with mean values of 0.49 mg theobromine/g and 0.039 mg caffeine/g. In local chocolate, the mean theobromine and caffeine levels respectively were 0.72 mg/g and 0.04 mg/g in milk chocolate, and 0.85 mg/g and 0.06 mg/g in dark chocolate. Meanwhile, for imported chocolate, the mean theobromine and caffeine levels respectively were 1.05 mg/g and 0.12 mg/g in dark chocolate; 0.76 mg/g and 0.04 mg/g in milk chocolate; and 0.74 mg/g and 0.03 mg/g in white chocolate. Compared with the local chocolates, imported chocolates had higher levels of theobromine and caffeine at 1.141 mg/g and 0.1533mg/g. The average theobromine and caffeine concentrations in local chocolate were 0.082mg/g and 0.066mg/g. Theobromine concentration in chocolate samples is within the range of 0.62mg/g-1.141mg/g and the range of caffeine concentration is 0.026mg/g-0.153mg/g respectively. Bittersweet chocolates were found to have higher theobromine and caffeine concentrations than normal sweet chocolates and milk chocolates.
Energy and nutrient intake estimated using a pre-coded dietary history questionnaire (DHQ) was compared with results obtained from a 7-d weighed intake record (WI) in a group of 37 elderly Malays residing in rural areas of Mersing District, Johor, Malaysia to determine the validity of the DHQ. The DHQ consists of a pre-coded dietary history with a qualitative food frequency questionnaire which was developed to obtain information on food intake and usual dietary habits. The 7-d WI requires subjects to weigh each food immediately before eating and to weigh any leftovers. The medians of intake from the two methods were rather similar and varied by less than 30% for every nutrient, except for vitamin C (114%). For most of the nutrients, analysis of group means using the Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank sum test showed no significant difference between the estimation of intake from the DHQ and from the WI, with the exceptions of vitamin C and niacin. The DHQ significantly overestimated the intake of vitamin C compared to the WI (p<0.05), whilst, the intake of niacin was significantly underestimated (p<0.05). The consistency of ranking as assessed using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r) was satisfactory since there were positive correlations between all of the investigated nutrients estimated using the DHQ with those assessed using the WI, except for niacin. Furthermore, both the DHQ and the WI classified approximately 38 to 62% of the subjects into the same tertile for all nutrients, except vitamin C. Therefore, the DHQ was modified by adding a checklist of foods rich in vitamin C and niacin. In conclusion, the DHQ was fairly valid for obtaining the usual intake of most nutrients, particularly on a group basis. These findings indicate that in an elderly population with a high prevalence of illiteracy, a specially designed DHQ can provide very similar estimations to that obtained from 7-d WI.
A nutritional status study was carried out among Chinese preschoolers (4- 6 years old) residing in Subang Jaya, Selangor. 91 preschoolers (48 boys and 43 girls) of Chinese descent participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements such as weight and height were taken and compared with the NCHS reference. Food habits and demographic background were also evaluated. The results indicated that the prevalence of underweight, wasting and stunting was 2% respectively, while the prevalence of overweight was 3%. Food habits data showed that most preschoolers consumed the daily main meals and snack once a day. Fruits were consumed between three to four times per week. Food items preferred by these preschoolers were milk, fish and fruits. In general, preschoolers in this study favoured foods, which were deep fried rather than steamed or roasted. Correlation analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between income, education of parents and anthropometric index (weight for age, height for age and weight for height). The nutritional status of these preschool children in Subang Jaya was satisfactory.
The objective of this study was to identify the effect of different drying methods on vitamin A activity of formulated weaning food. Weaned foods on vitamin A activity of formulated using treated cowpea flour, locally available rice flour, banana-pumpkin, skim milk powder and sugar in the ratio 35:35:15:15:5. Treated cowpea flour consisted of original cowpea flour, 24 h germinated cowpea flour. Each treated flour was mixed separately with the other ingredients and cooked into a slurry. Each mixture was either oven-dried or freeze-dried to produce a dry flaky mixture. The carotenoid composition of the product was determined by HPLC. Vitamin A activity of oven-dried weaning food was significantly reduced (p<0.05) compared to freeze-dried weaning food. The freeze-dried weaning foods showed a higher retinol equivalent than oven-dried weaning foods for all treatments. The results of the study found that an intake of 100 g of freeze-dried weaning foods enriched with banana-pumpkin and cowpea flour provided an adequate amount of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for infants.