Introduction: There is an emergent increase of ultra-processed food consumption in developing countries including Malaysia which carries a likelihood towards the increase of obesity. However, few studies have been done in relating between ultra-processed consumption and obesity, especially in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to determine the consumption of ultra-processed foods and its relationship with BMI and body fat percentage among university committee in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 167 individuals aged 18 to 59 years old in Kuala Nerus. Data were collected using a researcher-administered questionnaire which consisted of three different sections: socio-demographic profile, two days 24-hour dietary recall, and nutritional status assessment on BMI and body fat percentage. Consumption of ultra-processed foods were determined by classifying two days 24-hour dietary recall based on ultra-processed food classification. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 with p
Food insecurity is normally associated with lower socioeconomic status and improper feeding practices which may consequently affect growth and development of young children. This study aims to assess household food security status and its association with child feeding practices and children’s weight status among low income mothers in Terengganu. A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted at four public maternal and child health clinics (MCH) located in Terengganu. A total of 107 of low-income mothers between ages of 18 to 45 years with net household income less than RM 3000 who has at least one child aged two years and above were recruited. The instruments used were Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) and weight-for-age child growth chart for children’ weight status at aged one year. Descriptive statistic and non-parametric tests were employed (SPSS 20). Majority of the households were food secure (85.0%). Yet, it is also important to note that about 15% of the household had experienced some degree of food insecurity. There was no significant correlation between household food security and all child feeding practice domains. Most of the mothers had children with normal weight (mean Z-score =-0.72+0.99). There was statistically significant association between household food security status and weight of children at one year of age (p=0.01). In conclusion, majority of the households experienced food secure. Household food security were associated with children’s weight status at early age but not correlated with parent’s child feeding practice.
Introduction: Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients worldwide. While health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in relation to cancer outcomes has attracted global attention, there are few studies on CHM use and HRQoL among cancer patients in Malaysia. This study attempted to determine the association between use of CHM, including the types, reasons, and beliefs, and HRQoL among Malaysian cancer patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 cancer patients (60 male and 60 female) recruited from government oncology clinics in Johor state. A purposive non-probability sampling was applied to recruit respondents.
Results: Use of CHM was reported by about half of the patients (49.2%). Common types of CHM used included Chinese herbal extracts (27.5%), Sabah snake grass (12.2%), and ginger (11.5%). The median score for overall belief in CHM significantly differed between
CHM users (71.7%) and non-users (65.0%) (p<0.001). The HRQoL was generally reported as ‘good’ with high scores for overall functioning scales and low scores for symptom scales. However, no significant difference in HRQoL between CHM users and non-users was noted. ‘Social Functioning’ scores between both groups showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) with respect to sex, with females scoring higher than males. No significant association was noted between CHM use and socio-demographic characteristics except for sex.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of self-prescription of CHM among the cancer patients studied. Nonetheless use of CHM did not show any significant difference in terms of quality of life among CHM users.
Study site: Oncology clinics, Hospital Sultan Ismail (Johor Bahru) and Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail (Batu Pahat), Johor, Malaysia