Risk factors associated with abdominal obesity in suburban adolescents from a Malaysian district.

Wai Fong CHEW; Pooi Pooi LEONG; Sook Fan YAP; A Malik YASMIN; Kong Bung CHOO; Gary Kim Kuan LOW; Nem Yun BOO

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Risk factors associated with abdominal obesity in suburban adolescents from a Malaysian district.

Author: Wai Fong CHEW ¹ ; Pooi Pooi LEONG ¹ ; Sook Fan YAP ¹ ; A Malik YASMIN ¹ ; Kong Bung CHOO ¹ ; Gary Kim Kuan LOW ² ; Nem Yun BOO ²
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1. Department of Pre-Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Selangor, Malaysia.
2. Department of Population Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Selangor, Malaysia.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: abdominal obesity; adolescents; dietary habits; waist circumference
MeSH: Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Feeding Behavior; Female; Humans; Malaysia; epidemiology; Male; Obesity, Abdominal; epidemiology; therapy; Odds Ratio; Pediatric Obesity; epidemiology; therapy; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Suburban Population; Surveys and Questionnaires; Waist Circumference
From:Singapore medical journal 2018;59(1):104-111
CountrySingapore
Language:English
Abstract: INTRODUCTION:We aimed to determine the risk factors associated with abdominal obesity (AO) in suburban adolescents.
METHODS:This cross-sectional study included adolescents aged 15-17 years from five randomly selected secondary schools in the Hulu Langat district of Selangor state, Malaysia. Waist circumference (WC) was measured at the midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest. Information on sociodemographic data, dietary habits, physical activity levels and duration of sleep was obtained via interviewer-administered questionnaires. Participants' habitual food intake was determined using a 73-item Food Frequency Questionnaire.
RESULTS:Among 832 participants, 56.0% were girls; 48.4% were Malay, 40.5% Chinese, 10.2% Indian and 0.8% of other ethnic groups. Median age and WC were 16 (interquartile range [IQR] 15-16) years and 67.9 (IQR 63.0-74.6) cm, respectively. Overall prevalence of AO (> 90th percentile on the WC chart) was 11.3%. A higher proportion (22.4%) of Indian adolescents were found to have AO compared with Malay and Chinese adolescents. Logistic regression analysis showed that female gender (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 7.064, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.087-23.913; p = 0.002), Indian ethnicity (adjusted OR 10.164, 95% CI 2.182-47.346; p = 0.003), irregular meals (adjusted OR 3.193, 95% CI 1.043-9.774; p = 0.042) and increasing body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR 2.867, 95% CI 2.216-3.710; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with AO.
CONCLUSION:AO was common among Malaysian adolescents. Female gender, Indian ethnicity, irregular meals and increasing BMI were significant risk factors.