Participation in College Activity and Its Association with Nutritional Status Among Students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus
- Author:
Noor Farhana Nazri
;
Ruzita Abdul Talib
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Activity in residential college, Nutritional status, Body Mass Index
- From:Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences
2013;11(2):9-17
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the involvements of activities at the
residential college with the nutritional status of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Kuala Lumpur students and
also to identify dietary habit of the students and determine the availability of healthy food around them. A total 106
student of second to fourth year of UKM Kuala Lumpur were involved in this study (20.8% male and 79.2% female).
Subject’s food intake data were collected by using three day food diary. The involvement in college activities and the
availability of healthy food were determined by specifi c questionnaire, which were developed for this study. Body weight,
height, waist circumference, percentage of body fat and body mass index was also measured. The study showed that
majority of the subjects (62.3%) is actively involved in residential college activities. Among the subjects that are actively
involved in residential college activities, 5.3% of male subjects and 31.9% of female were underweight. 68.4% of male
and 55.3% of female had normal body weight. 21% of male and 8.5% of female were pre obese. In addition, 5.3%
(n = 1) of male subjects and 4.3% (n = 2) of female subjects were obese. From this study, majority of subjects agree
that it is easy to get healthy foods in campus. There was a signifi cant positive correlation between energy intake (r =
0.352, p < 0.05) and fat (r = 0.391, p < 0.05) with Body Mass Index (BMI) for the involvement of college activities that
are less than three hours. For the involvement of the college activities that are more than three hours, there was a signifi cant positive correlation between energy intake (r = 0.678, p < 0.01), fat (r = 0.550, p < 0.05), carbohydrate (r =
0.685, p < 0.01), protein (r = 0.465, p < 0.05), calcium (r = 0.357, p < 0.05), iron (r = 0.500, p < 0.05), vitamin A (r =
0.733, p < 0.01) and vitamin E (r = 0.582, p < 0.05) with BMI. Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) achievement of energy
intake, calcium, ribofl avin, vitamin C and vitamin E were higher among the subjects that involved in college activities
less than three hours compared to those who involved in college activities more than three hours. In conclusion, even
though there are many subjects who are active, there are still among those who are suffering from being underweight,
overweight and obese. Therefore, the involvement in residential college activities does affect the nutritional status of
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students
- Full text:W020150511437831495925.pdf
