METHODS: Using a purposive sampling method, this study was conducted on dietitians practising in the Malaysian hospitals (government and private). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), a validated 16-item questionnaire was self-administered, either by online survey method or face-to-face method. Additional information on gender, ethnicity, years of experience and percentage of working time spent on clinical, administrative and other areas were collected.
RESULTS: A total of 69 dietitians participated in the study (private (n = 36) and government (n = 33)). The dietitians' mean total TEQ scores were 49.72 ± 5.62 (score ranged between 35 and 63). Significant difference of mean total TEQ scores was found between dietitians from private (51.06 ± 5.26) and government hospitals (48.27 ± 5.72). There was no significant difference in the level of empathy by gender, ethnicity, years of experience and percentage of time spent on clinical consultations, administration or others while at work.
CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study showed that there were differences in empathy level of Malaysian dietitians by work setting. This preliminary finding serves as a baseline for future studies and could facilitate the development of dietetics education in Malaysia.
OBJECTIVES: The review objectives were to summarize the evidence on prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity within developing countries in Asia and to synthesise the best epidemiological association between the dietary patterns of children in the developing countries in Asia and their weight status in terms of obesity.
INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review considered any studies that included children under 18 years of age who live in developing countries in Asia.This review of epidemiological association considered any analytical observational studies (case-control studies, cohort studies and analytical cross-sectional studies).The focus was to summarise the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity within developing countries in Asia and synthesise the best available evidence on the relationship between dietary patterns as the exposure variable and childhood overweight and obesity as the outcome.
SEARCH STRATEGY: A three-step search strategy was utilised, with an initial limited search of MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE to identify search terms. A second search using all identified keywords and index terms was undertaken across all included databases. Thirdly, the reference list of all identified reports and articles were searched for additional studies. Additional electronic databases searched included: ProQuest, Web of Science, and Scopus. Each database was searched from inception to September 2011, with an English language restriction.
METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY: All papers selected for retrieval were assessed independently by two reviewers using standardised critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute.
DATA COLLECTION: Data was extracted from included studies by two reviewers independently using an adapted version of the standardised data extraction form from the Joanna Briggs Institute.
DATA SYNTHESIS: Meta-analysis was not possible because of the heterogeneity of studies in terms of methodology, statistical analyses and outcomes. A narrative summary of results is provided.
RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in the review. The prevalence rates of childhood overweight and obesity in Asian developing countries ranged from 5.1% to 19.9% with no specific trend in age or gender. Several significant but inconsistent statistical associations between dietary patterns and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents were found [high energy diet (OR: 1.80 95%CI 1.10 to 2.90, p<0.05 vs 0.80 95%CI 0.60 to 1.10, p>0.05), low intake of fruit and vegetables (OR: 2.34 95%CI 1.04 to 5.24, p<0.001; 2.00 95%CI 1.10 to 3.40, p<0.05 vs 1.33 95%CI 0.44 to 4.05, p>0.05; 0.70 95%CI 0.50 to 1.00, p>0.05), high meat consumption (RR: 2.40 95%CI 1.00 to 5.60, p<0.05 vs 1.70 95%CI 1.00 to 2.70, p>0.05), eating out (OR: 12.0 95%CI 7.7 to 18.7, p<0.001; 1.70 95%CI 1.04 to 2.90, p<0.05 vs 1.20 95%CI 0.60 to 2.40, p>0.05), fast food intake (OR: 1.50 95%CI 1.12 to 2.02, p<0.05), presence of snacking (OR: 2.34 95%CI 1.01 to 5.54, p=0.05; 1.26 95%CI 1.13 to 1.40, p<0.05 vs 0.80 95%CI 0.48 to 1.32,p=0.377; 0.60 95%CI 0.30 to 0.99, p<0.05; 0.60 95%CI 0.40 to 0.90, p<0.05) and drinking sugar sweetened beverages (OR: 1.60 95%CI 1.02 to 2.50, p<0.05; 1.70 95%CI 1.10 to 2.70, p<0.05 vs 0.93 95%CI 0.82 to 1.05, p>0.05)]. The key limitation was the heterogeneity of studies in terms of measures of dietary patterns and obesity standards.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates of childhood overweight and obesity in Asian developing countries ranged from 5.1% to 19.9% with no specific trend in age or gender. From the practice perspective, several significant yet inconsistent statistical associations between dietary patterns and childhood overweight/obesity in children and adolescents were found.This review highlights the need for clinicians to monitor the effects of dietary change on the weight and health status of children in Asian countries.There is a need for valid measures of dietary intake and use of standardised international cut-offs for overweight and obesity, and for future researchers to conduct prospective studies to determine the causal relationship between Asian children's dietary pattern and their weight status.
METHODS: The cross-sectional Family Diet Study (n = 236) was conducted at five primary schools in central of Peninsular Malaysia. Each family consisted of a Malay child, aged 8-12 years, and their main caregiver(s). Information on socio-demographics, dietary intake and anthropometry were collected. Correlations and regression analyses were used to assess dietary relationships within family dyads.
RESULTS: Approximately 29.6% of the children and 75.0% parents were categorised as being overweight or obese. Intakes of nutrients and food groups were below the national recommended targets for majority of children and adults. A large proportion of energy intake mis-reporters were identified: mothers (55.5%), fathers (40.2%) and children (40.2%). Children's body mass index (BMI) was positively associated with parental BMI (fathers, r = 0.37; mothers, r = 0.34; P < 0.01). For dietary intakes, moderate-to-strong (0.35-0.72) and weak-to-moderate (0.16-0.35) correlations were found between mother-father and child-parent dyads, respectively. Multiple regression revealed that maternal percentage energy from fat (β = 0.09, P < 0.01) explained 81% of the variation in children's fat intake.
CONCLUSIONS: Clear parental dietary relationships, especially child-mother dyads, were found. Despite a significant proportion of families with members who were overweight or obese, the majority reported dietary intakes below recommended levels, distorted by energy mis-reporting. The findings of the present study can inform interventions targeting parent-child relationships to improve family dietary patterns in Malaysia.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 57 dietetic interns and 99 patients from primary and tertiary health care settings. The dietetic interns completed the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) while the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure was self-administered by patients. Socio-demographic information of participants was collected.
RESULTS: The dietetic interns' mean (standard deviation [SD]) TEQ scores were 46.90 ± 5.28 and 47.78 ± 5.34 in primary and tertiary care, respectively. CARE measure scores rated by patients in the primary care were 38.61 ± 8.38 and for tertiary setting, the scores were slightly higher (39.47 ± 7.65). The settings, gender, ethnicity and period of internship did not affect dietetic interns' empathy level. In primary care, CARE scores were significantly different between patients' age grouping (P = 0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the present study showed that patients' age significantly affected their perception of dietetic interns' empathy in primary health care. These preliminary findings could facilitate an understanding of the level of empathy amongst interns for consideration in the future design of dietetic training.
MATERIALS AND METHOD: The Family Diet Study was conducted with urban Malay families and included a child aged 8-12 years and their main carer(s). Seven domains of parent-child feeding practices were assessed using the child feeding questionnaire and familial demographics, including socio-economic status, child anthropometry and dietary intake were collected. Inferential statistics were used to explore the relationships between variables.
RESULTS: Of the 315 families enrolled, 236 completed all measures, with the majority of parent-reporters being mothers (n = 182). One-third of the children were classified as overweight/obese. Three domains of parent-child feeding practices had median scores of 4.0 out of 5.0 [concern about child overweight (CCO) (Interquartile range (IQR): 3.3, 4.7); pressure-to-eat (PTE) (IQR: 3.3, 4.5) and food monitoring (IQR: 3.0, 5.0)]. The domain of 'perceived child overweight' was positively associated with child age (r = 0.45, p
METHODS: This cross-sectional study evaluated the psychometric properties of Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Healthcare Provider Student (JSE-HPS) and empathic behaviour of dietetics students.
RESULTS: Undergraduate dietetics students from one private and two public universities in Malaysia participated (n = 455). Item and scale psychometric properties were examined using principal component analysis and differences in mean empathy scores for students were assessed across years of study and types of universities. A 3-factor solution emerged in the results, accounting for 26.76%, 10.75% and 6.3% of the variance. The JSE-HPS demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.83). Despite students enroled at public universities scoring higher mean empathy scores than students enroled at the private university, the difference was not significant. The only significant difference was between the empathy level of first and third year students (p = 0.033).
CONCLUSION: As empathy underpins patient-centred management in the nutrition care process, it should be well integrated into curriculum delivery so that appropriate levels of empathy can be developed to prepare work-ready healthcare professionals.
Methods: Participants (9-11 years old) were recruited and randomized into 4 treatment groups (600 mg calcium, 12 g SCF, 12 g SCF plus 600 mg calcium and placebo). Interventions were consumed as a fruit-flavored powdered drink for 1-year. School-based recruitment was effective due to support on study benefits from parents and teachers, peer influence and a 2-weeks study run-in for participants to assess their readiness to commit to the study protocol. Retention strategies focused on building rapport through school-based fun activities, WhatsApp messaging, providing health screening and travel reimbursements for study measurements. Compliance was enhanced by providing direct on-site school feeding and monthly non-cash rewards. Choice of 2 flavors for the intervention drinks were provided to overcome taste fatigue. Satisfaction level on the manner in which the study was conducted was obtained from a voluntary sub-set of participants.
Results: The study successfully enrolled 243 participants within 6 months and retained 82.7% of the participants at the end of 1 year, yielding a drop-out rate of 17.3%. Compliance to the intervention drink was 85% at the start and remained at 78.7% at the end of 1 year. More than 95% of the participants provided good feedback on intervention drinks, rapport building activities, communication and overall study conduct.
Conclusion: Successful strategies focused on study benefits, rapport building, frequent communication using social media and non-cash incentives helped improved compliance and retention rate. The lessons learned to maintain a high retention and compliance rate in this study provide valuable insights for future studies in a similar population.
METHODS: Body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone mineral content (BMC) at the lumbar spine (LS) and total body (TB) were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Calcium intake was assessed using 1-week diet history, MET (metabolic equivalent of task) score using cPAQ physical activity questionnaire, and serum 25(OH) vitamin D using LC-MS/MS.
RESULTS: The mean calcium intake was 349 ± 180 mg/day and mean serum 25(OH)D level was 43.9 ± 14.5 nmol/L. In boys, lean mass (LM) was a significant predictor of LSBMC (β = 0.539, p
INTRODUCTION: SCF has been reported to improve calcium absorption. We investigated the long-term effect of SCF and calcium on bone indices of healthy preadolescent children aged 9-11 years old.
METHODS: In a double-blind, randomised, parallel arm study, 243 participants were randomised into four groups: placebo, 12-g SCF, 600-mg calcium lactate gluconate (Ca) and 12-g SCF + 600-mg calcium lactate gluconate (SCF + Ca). Total body bone mineral content (TBBMC) and total body bone mineral density (TBBMD) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline, 6 and 12 months.
RESULTS: At 6 months, SCF + Ca had a significant increase in TBBMC from baseline (27.14 ± 6.10 g, p = 0.001). At 12 months, there was a significant increase in TBBMC from baseline in the SCF + Ca (40.28 ± 9.03 g, p = 0.001) and SCF groups (27.34 ± 7.93 g, p = 0.037). At 6 months, the change in TBBMD in the SCF + Ca (0.019 ± 0.003 g/cm2) and Ca (0.014 ± 0.003 g/cm2) groups was significantly different (p