Introduction: Increasing trends of hypertension has been recognised as a common disease among the elderly. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and factors associated with blood pressure among hospitalised elderly. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 124 patients in Hospital Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Data on socio-demography, medical background, anthropometry, blood biochemistry and lifestyle were collected through face-to-face interviews and medical records. Dietary intake was obtained through two days of food history. Malnutrition risks and stress level were determined using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: There were 59.7% males and 40.3% females with mean age of 66.81±5.35 years. Majority were found to have hypertension (72.6%). Approximately 38.7% had normal body mass index (BMI). Most of them reported insufficient dietary intakes except for trans fats, sodium, and caffeine. Nearly 62.1% were engaged with physical activity, 23.4% were smoking, and 4.8% were taking alcohol. Approximately 66.1% and 86.3% were classified as having normal nutritional status and normal stress levels. In this study, the prevalence of hypertension among elderly patients warded in Hospital Serdang, Selangor was 72.6% and factors such as length of stay, number of co-morbidities, number of medications, having co-morbidities of hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus, polypharmacy, height, BMI, fibre, polyunsaturated fat, dietary cholesterol, caffeine, and duration of physical activity were found to be associated with blood pressure. Conclusion: The present study found that majority of patients (72.6%) had hypertension. Future studies regarding factors associated with blood pressure are recommended.

Introduction: Stunting is a major nutritional problem in Indonesia. The prevalence of stunting in DKI Jakarta province was relatively high at 27.5% in 2013 and 17.7% in 2018. This study aims to describe nutrient intakes of children aged 25-30 months and to determine the proportional differences in nutrient intakes between stunting and normal children in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: A case-control study with a total sample of 121 children aged 25-30 months was conducted in Gambir and Sawah Besar sub-districts, Central Jakarta, where the prevalence of stunting was high. All children were exclusively breastfed for at least four months and had similar socio-economic levels. Data collected included height measurement, questionnairebased interview, and 24-hour food recall. T-test and chi-square test were used to investigate the differences between two groups and logistic regression was used in multivariate analysis. Results: Factors associated with stunting were energy intake (AOR=6.0; 95% CI=1.0-35.0) and protein intake (AOR=4.0; 95% CI=1.1-15.5) after controlling for fat, carbohydrate, vitamin C, iron, and zinc intakes. The percentage of children with energy intake below the recommendation was much higher in stunted children (86.1%) compared to normal children (43.5%). Similarly, the percentage of children with protein intake below the recommendation was very much higher among stunted children (30.6%) compared to 8.2% in normal children. Conclusion: Children who lacked energy and protein intakes were at a higher risk of stunting than children who had sufficient intakes. Macronutrient intakes are important and should be consumed in sufficient quantities every day to prevent stunting.

Introduction: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the associations of socio-demographic factors, eating behaviours, fast food purchasing by parents for family meals, and availability of neighbourhood fast-food outlets with BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) among adolescents. Methods: Through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method, a total of 420 adolescents from five selected public secondary schools participated in the current study. Data on socio-demographic factors, eating behaviours, and parent’s purchases of fast food were obtained through selfadministered questionnaires. The availability of fast-food outlets was assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS). Body weight and height of the adolescents were measured. Results: The prevalence of overweight, obesity, thinness and severe thinness among adolescents in the present study were 17.6%, 15.5%, 3.1% and 0.7%, respectively. The current findings showed that a higher monthly household income (rs =0.12, p=0.02) and less purchases of fast food by parents for family meals (rs =-0.11, p=0.03) were significantly associated with higher BAZ of the adolescents. However, there were no significant associations between eating outside of home, eating at fast-food restaurants, buying delivery fast food, and availability of neighbourhood fast-food outlets with BAZ. Multiple linear regression showed that less purchases of fast food by parents for family meals significantly contributed towards higher BAZ (β=−0.25, p=0.02). Conclusion: A higher household income and less fast food purchasing by parents were associated with higher BAZ. Fast food purchasing of adolescents were not associated with BAZ. Therefore, an appropriate obesity intervention programme should focus on adolescents and their parents from middle- and high-income households in Labuan.

Introduction: Stunting persists as a public health problem in the Philippines, affecting 30% of under-five children. This study aimed to identify the drivers of stunting in young Filipino children aged 6-23 months. Methods: Data were extracted from the cross-sectional Updating Survey conducted in 2015 by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST). Potential predictors of stunting, which were categorised into childrelated characteristics, feeding practices, maternal socio-demographic status and health practices, and household economic and food security status, were examined using descriptive and regression analyses. Results: Of the 2,275 children aged 6-23 months, 18.7% were stunted and 8.3% were severely stunted. The risk of stunting increased significantly among older children aged 12-23 months (relative risk ratio, RRR 3.04), males within 6-23 months of age (RRR 1.99), and low-birth-weight infants (RRR 2.19). Children born from teenage mothers (RRR 1.90), mothers with short stature (RRR 2.33), and mothers with low education (RRR 1.59) posed higher risks of becoming stunted relative to their counterparts. Mothers with >4 children (RRR 2.44), coming from the poorest households (RRR 4.27), having untimely introduction of complementary foods (RRR 4.44), and not meeting the minimum meal frequency (RRR 2.30) increased the risks of severe stunting. Conclusion: The study illustrated the multi-factorial nature of stunting among Filipino children aged 6-23 months old. Therefore, a multi-sectoral approach is needed to address the underlying factors of stunting among young Filipino children to help achieve the country’s nutrition targets by 2025.

Introduction: Prevalence of malnourished children in Putrajaya was unexpectedly high in 2016. This paper describes the study protocol for a case-control study conducted to identify the associated factors of malnutrition among children under 5 years old in Putrajaya. Methods: This study involved two phases. Phase I was ‘screening’ where all children aged 6-59 months in 118 preschools and four government health clinics were measured for their weight and height. The World Health Organization Anthro software was used to determine the nutritional status of these children. Phase II was the ‘interview’ where children from screening were sampled into four pairs of case and control. The optimum sample size for the case of stunted, wasted, underweight, and overweight were 380, 335, 318, and 308, respectively. The same number of controls were recruited. Parents/caregivers of selected children were approached to obtain data on parental factors, children factors, food intake factors, and environmental factors that contributed to malnutrition. Data analysis was performed by multiple logistic regression in SPSS version 26. Results: Screening phase successfully measured 8,261 (50.1%) children from an estimated 16,500 children under 5 years old in Putrajaya. The number of children who were stunted, wasted, underweight, and overweight were 2,105 (25.5%), 512 (6.2%), 1,516 (18.4%), and 248 (3.0%), respectively. As overweight was undersampled, the number of controls for overweight was doubled to increase the power of the study. Parents/caregivers of selected cases and controls were interviewed in their household or any other venues at their convenience. Conclusion: This protocol promises beneficial outputs to stakeholders and policy makers that can be used for combating malnutrition in children.

Introduction: The red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) is a popular fruit, not only where it originated from, in Central America, but across the world including in Asia. It contains healthy minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, and has been shown to have gut motility action in animals. Methods: To determine the effect of red dragon fruit on whole gut transit time, a cross-sectional study of whole gut transit time using two different stool markers was conducted among 128 young Malaysian adults. Results: Red dragon fruit, in a half fruit serving of 225±25 grams, reduced mean whole gut transit time from 26.0±12.9 hours to 21.9±12.8 hours (p<0.001) when colour change in stools was used as an indicator. The tests also showed that 14.8-17.3% of individuals had whole gut transit time ≥40 hours with carbon as a stool marker compared to only 7.8-8.6% when red dragon fruit was consumed and used as a marker. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a laxative effect of red dragon fruit among young adults.

Introduction: Obesity and overweight in adolescents and adults are associated with chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of high-intensity interval training and pre-meal water intake on the lipid profile of overweight and obese students. Methods: This was a pre-post experimental study. Twenty-seven overweight and obese students (mean BMI 26.0±3.1 kg/m2 and mean age 19.7±0.7 years) were divided randomly into three groups. The first group (n=9; BMI=26.6±3.6 kg/m2) received Plain Water Intake (PWI) intervention, whereby students received three bottles of plain water (600 mL) per mealtime (total 1.8 L/ day) and consumed ad libitum 30 to 45 minutes before mealtime (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). The second group (n=9; BMI=25.9±2.4 kg/m2) received High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) intervention and underwent three exercise sessions per week (18 minutes/day; 70–85% of HRmax) that was introduced through a video recording. The last group (n=9; BMI= 25.7±3.4 kg/m2) received a combination of PWI+HIIT intervention. Nutritional status, nutrient intake, and lipid profile [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)] were assessed before and after the interventions. Data were analysed using paired sample t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results: The PWI group showed a significant increase in HDL-C, while the HIIT group showed a significant reduction in TC (p<0.05). On the other hand, the PWI+HIIT group showed significant improvements in lipid profile (TC, TG and HDL-C) (p<0.05). Conclusion: A combination of PWI+HIIT intervention may be effective in improving lipid profile.

Introduction: Hospital-acquired malnutrition (HAM) is prevalent among hospitalised children in developing countries. This condition relates to worse clinical outcomes, prolongs length of stay in hospitals, and increases mortality. A multidisciplinary approach should be performed to prevent and manage this problem. However, HAM is often underdiagnosed, especially in rural hospitals with limited human resources. This study aims to delineate the risk factors of HAM among hospitalised children in a rural hospital. Methods: This nested case-control study derived from the implementation of a nutritional screening programme in Parindu Hospital, Sanggau, West Borneo, was conducted from December 2018 to February 2019. HAM was defined as a loss of body weight of >2% after hospitalisation. Independent variables such as the age of patients, fever, gastrointestinal loss, pre-existing malnutrition, length of stay, and grade of disease were analysed in univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression. Risk factors were expressed as odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Thirty-three patients were analysed as cases with 59 controls. Median age was younger in the case group (49 months, IQR 14-72.5) than control group (88 months, IQR 43-116). After adjustment for other covariates, age <5 years old (aOR 5.50, 95% CI 1.95- 15.59) and moderate-to-severe grade of disease (aOR 3.50, 95% CI 1.09-11.09) were significant risk factors of HAM in our study. Conclusion: Risk factors of HAM in children hospitalised in a rural hospital were age <5 years old and moderate-tosevere grade of disease.

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a public health problem in Malaysia. Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with obesity in children. There is a lack of studies on factors associated with SSB consumption in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic factors associated with SSB consumption among Malaysian adolescents. Methods: Data of 2,021 students, aged 10-17 years on sociodemographic, SSB intake and anthropometrics were drawn from the school-based Adolescent Nutrition Survey 2017. A multistage stratified cluster sampling was used to obtain a nationally representative sample of primary and secondary school students. Body mass index (BMI)-for-age status was determined based on calculated z-score using the World Health Organization 2007 reference. SSB consumption was obtained from a food frequency questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Malaysian adolescents were 16.6% and 14.7%, respectively. Malaysian adolescents consumed 1.4 cups of SSB per day. Rural children had a significantly higher SSB intake (1.5 cups) than urban (1.3 cups) children, while males (1.5 cups) had a significantly higher intake than females (1.3 cups). There were no significant differences in SSB consumption between thin, normal, overweight and obese adolescents. Conclusion: Almost all Malaysian adolescents consumed SSB during one month prior to the survey and the average amount consumed was 1.4 cups per day. Rural locality and male were associated with higher SSB consumption. There were differences in SSB consumption between Chinese and Malays, between Chinese and Indians, and between Chinese and Bumiputra Sarawak. There were no differences in consumption between the different BMI-for-age categories.

Introduction: The elderly population is susceptible to malnutrition due to the physiological and functional changes caused by ageing. Hence, to prevent the degenerative nutritional conditions of the elderly and improve their quality of life, this study aimed to determine the influencing factors of malnutrition among Filipino elderly. Methods: Anthropometric component data from the 8th National Nutrition Survey (NNS) were utilised along with the nutritional status of Filipino elderly, based on body mass index as the dependent variable and variables from the clinical and health, dietary, and socioeconomic components of NNS as explanatory factors. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was then performed in fitting models. Results: High magnitude and severity of malnutrition were observed among Filipino elderly – 20.2% were underweight and 24.8% were overweight. Significant influencing factors in estimating an elderly’s odds of being underweight were the elderly’s age group, presence of hypertension, presence of anaemia, and adequacy of vitamin A intake. Whereas, significant influencing factors in estimating an elderly’s odds of being overweight/obese included highest educational attainment, presence of anaemia, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia. Conclusion: Knowing the influencing factors may help the elderly become more aware and conscious of their health, as well as to promote nutrient intakes to prevent malnutrition that can worsen their health conditions. Additionally, concerned institutions in the country could use the findings of this study as one of the bases in strengthening their approach and implementation or even provide relevant and timely policies and programmes that address malnutrition in the elderly of this country.