Aryati Ahmad
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Title: Determinants of Obesity Among Malaysian Schoolchildren: A Cross-sectional Study
Biography
Biography: Aryati Ahmad
Abstract
Obesity among children has been regarded as one of the most serious public health challenges in this decade. This problem has now become more evident in the developing countries including Malaysia. The prevalence has increased substantially each year. This obesity epidemic is linked with numerous risk factors mainly unhealthy lifestyle. Despite many studies have been conducted on children globally, the real data on determinants of obesity among Malaysian schoolchildren, particularly in sub-urban state like Terengganu, is still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to provide the current analyses on obesity determinants including socioeconomic status, dietary intake, physical activity, and physical fitness level and its relationship with the childhood obesity. Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 1,404 school adolescents were involved in the study (46.3% boys and 53.7% girls) from Kuala Terengganu (80.3%) and Besut (19.7%) districts in Terengganu, Malaysia. Data on demographic and socioeconomic were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire. Height and body weight were measured and BMI-for-age Z-score was calculated using WHO Anthroplus software. Dietary intake, physical activity and physical fitness level were measured using FFQ, c-PAQ and SEGAK assessment, respectively. All data were analysed using multivariable analysis. In the final model, obesity in both genders was found to be associated with physical fitness level, parental obesity, birth weight, household size and serving of dairy intake. This finding suggests the requirement of multifaceted and community-wide programs and policies including parental important roles in obesity preventive strategies and interventions.