Introduction: The consumption of ready-to-eat cereals (RTECs) has been associated with lower anthropometric status as well as a lower risk of childhood obesity. This relationship has not been investigated among school children in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the association between consumption of RTECs and anthropometric status among primary school children in Kuala Lumpur. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 208 school children aged 10 and 11 years were recruited from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Information on socio-demographics, RTECs consumption and anthropometric measurements (height, weight and waist circumference) were obtained. Results: The overall median body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were 17.95(IqR 6.45) kg/m2 and 57.35 (IqR 13.00) cm, respectively. The majority of the children (73%) consumed RTECs. The prevalence of obesity was 23.1%, with more boys (31%) than girls (17.4%) being obese. Meanwhile, 16.8% of the children were overweight. BMI (U=3335.50, z=-2.278, p=0.023) and WC (U=3273.50, z=-2.440, p=0.015) of those who consumed RTECs were significantly lower than those who did not consume RTECs. Meanwhile, children who did not consume RTECs were significantly more likely to develop abdominal adiposity than those who consumed RTECS, X2(2, N=208) =7.61, p=0.022. Conclusion: Children who consumed RTECs have significantly lower BMI and WC, as well as a lower chance of developing abdominal adiposity. Consumption of RTECs indicates an overall healthy lifestyle with an excellent nutritional profile to promote healthy body weight in children and decreased risk of childhood obesity.
This study aimed to develop and validate whole grain KAP questionnaire among children. A
guided self-administered questionnaire was developed. In this cross sectional study, a total
of 207 children aged 9 to 11 years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were recruited. Knowledge
domain was considered as optimal level of difficulty and able to discriminate performance of
good and poor children. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis with
principle components method and varimax rotation. Four factor-solutions emerged for attitude
domain whereas 3 factor-solutions were constructed for practice domain. Internal consistency
was acceptable for knowledge (KR20=0.70), attitude (CA=0.72) and practice (CA=0.73).
Test-retest reliability intra-class correlation coefficients for knowledge, attitude and practice
domains were 0.80, 0.78 and 0.79 (p
Introduction: Dietitians play an essential role in the management of childhood obesity and consistency in dietetic practices is required to ensure the effectiveness of treatment. This study assessed dietitians’ current practices in the management of childhood obesity, compared the practices with nutrition practice guidelines used by dietitians in other countries and identified practice components for the development of nutrition practice guidelines for the management of childhood obesity in Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 40 dietitians in 16 Ministry of Health hospitals and three teaching hospitals. Information on current dietetic practices in the management of childhood obesity was obtained through a mailed survey questionnaire. The practices included nutritional assessment, determination of energy requirement, dietary prescription and physical activity modification. Emails were sent to 31 dietetic associations in other countries to obtain information on practice guidelines used by dietitians.
Results: Frequently used dietary intervention and physical activity modification approaches were high fibre diet (65%), low fat diet (40%), reduction of sedentary pursuits and screen times (67.5%) and an increase in duration of current physical activities (60%). In comparison to other dietetic practice guidelines, the current dietetic practices in Malaysia do not usually include waist circumference, biochemical and blood pressure data. However, similar to other guidelines, the current dietetic practices included low dietary fat, high fibre diet, decreased sedentary activity and increased physical activity level.
Conclusions: The dietetic practices in the management of childhood obesity in Malaysia are diverse. A comprehensive nutrition practice guideline for management of childhood obesity is urgently needed for standardisation of dietetic practices in Malaysia.