Prevalence and Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Healthcare Workers in Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Melaka Tengah
- Author:
Syafiq Taib
1
Author Information
1. Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Collective Name:Syafiq Taib; Siti Nor Mat; Norzaher Ismail; Fairuz Rahmat; Noor Aizam Said and Shamsul Azhar Shah
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Overweight;
Obesity;
Healthcare workers
- From:International Journal of Public Health Research
2019;9(2):1119-1128
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Introduction Overweight and obesity are a serious public health problem globally.
Healthcare workers in some countries have been reported to be having a high
prevalence of being overweight despite them being well informed of the
aetiology and risks of excessive body weight. However, the problem of being
overweight and obese among Malaysian healthcare workers is still poorly
understood. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and factors
associated with overweight and obesity among healthcare workers in Pejabat
Kesihatan Daerah (PKD) Melaka Tengah.
Methods This is a cross sectional study conducted between June till August 2018
involving 702 respondents sampled from all health facilities under PKD
Melaka Tengah. Demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle data was
collected using questionnaires whilst anthropometric measurements were
taken using the electronic weighing scale and height measuring bar.
Results Mean age was 35.81 years and overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was
55.6%. Prevalence of overweight, class I obesity, class II obesity and class III
obesity was 34.3%, 14.2 %, 4.8% and 2.1% respectively. The identified risks
of being overweight were those aged forty and above (OR: 2.00, 95%CI:
1.39-2.85), non-Chinese (OR: 4.97, 95%CI: 2.13-11.62), married (OR: 1.77,
95%CI: 1.15-2.73), big family size (OR: 1.43, 95%CI: 1.07-1.99), underlying
NCD (OR: 1.73, 95%CI: 1.24-2.42), family history of NCD (OR: 1.94,
95%CI: 1.33-2.82), and sedentary lifestyle (OR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.07-2.17).
Conclusions We found a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity among healthcare
workers in PKD Melaka Tengah compared to the general population. Older
age group and non-Chinese ethnicity emerged as the most conspicuous
factors of overweight/obesity.
- Full text:21.2019my0228.pdf
