BACKGROUND: A qualitative study providing an in-depth exploration of people's view and the increasing burden of overweight and obesity is required. This study aimed to explore the understanding of dieting and previous experiences on weight loss attempts among overweight and obese government employees in Kelantan, Malaysia, prior to recruitment into the intervention program. METHODS: Thirteen focus group discussions involving 129 participants from a weight-loss intervention program were conducted within the first 1 month of recruitment. These discussions were moderated by two trained researchers in the Malay language and assisted by an interview guide. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was performed, and codes and themes from each discussion were constructed. RESULTS: The participants understood dieting with various meanings, including skipping meals and removing rice from daily diets. They applied numerous methods to lose weight and achieved various outcomes. Health and appearance, social support, and compliance with current trends were the factors motivating these participants to lose weight. Their determination to lose weight was limited by lack of self-control and motivation, experiences of unpleasant effects, influence on weight, and environmental and health factors. CONCLUSION: Real-life weight loss experiences and perceptions provided relevant insights into current weight loss management strategies. Some of these issues and misunderstandings should be emphasized in weight loss strategies during health promotion.
Compliance ; Diet ; Focus Groups ; Health Promotion ; Malaysia ; Meals ; Motivation ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Qualitative Research ; Self-Control ; Weight Loss

Aims: The natural coexistence of high humidity and warm temperatures in Malaysia and Nigeria and poor storage facilities used by most poultry feed vendors provide suitable conditions for the proliferation of aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxigenesis. This study aims to characterise and evaluate the toxigenicity of Aspergillus section Flavi (ASF) from Malaysian and Nigerian poultry feeds. Methodology and results: This study utilised standard mycological techniques to determine the bioburden and distribution of mycoflora in 132 and 144 Malaysian and Nigerian poultry feeds, respectively. The ASF isolated from the samples were tested for aflatoxigenicity by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and then characterised by multivariate using attenuated total reflectance fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). A total of 128 and 75 mould fungal isolates belonging to 12 and 11 species were obtained from the Malaysian and Nigerian samples with a bioburden ranging from 2.0 to 6.97 log CFU/g and the highest overall mean count of 5.66 ± 4.51 log CFU/g and 5.6 ± 4.76 log CFU/g, respectively. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus felis, Aspergillus flavus/parasiticus and Fusarium graminearum were predominant in poultry feeds from both countries. Overall, 16 ASF were isolated (Malaysia = 7, Nigeria = 9), of which only three produce aflatoxins. The multivariate cluster analysis of ATR-FTIR spectra showed 97.78% similarity between the toxigenic and atoxigenic ASF with primary differences at 600 to 800 cm-1 and 2927 to 4000 cm-1 only. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The bioburden of fungal flora in the samples was higher than the ICMSF's acceptable range of 2.0 to 5.0 log CFU/g, indicating that they could be hazardous to poultry and necessitate stricter control measures. Irrespective of the country/source of samples, the ATR-FTIR has discriminated the toxigenic from atoxigenic ASF, implying its promising prospects for rapid identification of toxigenic ASF.