1.Relationship of self-regulation and lifestyle behaviour with overweight among male and female adolescents in Selangor
Anu Suria Ganason ; Noor Azimah Muhammad ; Gunenthira Rao ; Hizlinda Tohid ; Majmin Sheikh Hamzah ; Khairani Omar
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2022;28(No.3):395-408
Introduction: The ability of a person to self-regulate and practise healthy lifestyle
behaviours determine one’s weight status. The objective of this study was to
determine the relationship of self-regulation, dietary practices, and physical activity
with overweight status among male and female adolescents. Methods: This crosssectional study used multistage cluster sampling involving government secondary
school students aged between 13 and 14 years old in Hulu Langat, Selangor.
Students answered a validated self-administered questionnaire comprising
socio-demography, dietary practices, physical activity, and self-regulation items.
Their body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and weight status was determined
using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BMI chart. Results:
Among 636 students, 27.0% were “overweight”, affecting more male than female
students (p=0.032). Majority of them (96.7%) were motivated to maintain healthy
body weight, but only a third of the students took vegetables, fruits and grains
(32.4%), and performed vigorous physical activity (31.1%) regularly. Regardless of
the “overweight” status, there were no significant differences in dietary practices,
physical activity, and autonomous regulation for both genders. Female students
showed a higher level of controlled regulation than male students in non-overweight
(p=0.005) and overweight (p<0.001) groups. Higher controlled regulation increased
the odds of being overweight among female students (AOR=1.04, 95% CI=1.04-1.08,
p=0.010). Conclusion: Thus, health authorities need to develop programmes to
assist, particularly female students, in practising higher autonomous regulation
to combat overweight and obesity, as this group exhibits a high level of controlled
regulation, which increases the likelihood of being overweight.