1.Development of multi-dimensional body image scale for malaysian female adolescents.
Yit Siew CHIN ; Mohd Nasir Mohd TAIB ; Zalilah Mohd SHARIFF ; Geok Lin KHOR
Nutrition Research and Practice 2008;2(2):85-92
The present study was conducted to develop a Multi-dimensional Body Image Scale for Malaysian female adolescents. Data were collected among 328 female adolescents from a secondary school in Kuantan district, state of Pahang, Malaysia by using a self-administered questionnaire and anthropometric measurements. The self-administered questionnaire comprised multiple measures of body image, Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26; Garner & Garfinkel, 1979) and Rosenberg Self-esteem Inventory (Rosenberg, 1965). The 152 items from selected multiple measures of body image were examined through factor analysis and for internal consistency. Correlations between Multi-dimensional Body Image Scale and body mass index (BMI), risk of eating disorders and self-esteem were assessed for construct validity. A seven factor model of a 62-item Multi-dimensional Body Image Scale for Malaysian female adolescents with construct validity and good internal consistency was developed. The scale encompasses 1) preoccupation with thinness and dieting behavior, 2) appearance and body satisfaction, 3) body importance, 4) muscle increasing behavior, 5) extreme dieting behavior, 6) appearance importance, and 7) perception of size and shape dimensions. Besides, a multidimensional body image composite score was proposed to screen negative body image risk in female adolescents. The result found body image was correlated with BMI, risk of eating disorders and self-esteem in female adolescents. In short, the present study supports a multi-dimensional concept for body image and provides a new insight into its multi-dimensionality in Malaysian female adolescents with preliminary validity and reliability of the scale. The Multi-dimensional Body Image Scale can be used to identify female adolescents who are potentially at risk of developing body image disturbance through future intervention programs.
Adolescent
;
Body Image
;
Body Mass Index
;
Diet
;
Eating
;
Feeding and Eating Disorders
;
Factor Analysis, Statistical
;
Female
;
Humans
;
Malaysia
;
Muscles
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
;
Reproducibility of Results
;
Thinness
2.Prevalence of macrolide resistance and in vitro activities of six antimicrobial agents against clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from a multi-center surveillance in Malaysia
Jayakayatri Jeevajothi Nathan ; Niazlin Mohd Taib ; Mohd Nasir Mohd Desa ; Siti Norbaya Masri ; Rohani Md Yasin ; Farida Jamal ; Sreenivasa Rao Sagineedu ; Arunkumar Karunanidhi
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2013;68(2):119-124
The in vitro activities of 6 antimicrobial agents against
clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae
(pneumococci) were investigated and the erythromycin
minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were correlated
with the two major macrolide resistance determinants,
mef(A) and erm(B). MICs of commonly used antibiotics as
well as the presence of macrolide resistance determinant
genes in all isolates were tested. Seventy one
pneumococcal isolates collected at Institute for Medical
Research (IMR) were included in this study. Phenotypic
characterization, MIC determination using E-test strips and
polymerase chain reactions for antibiotic resistance
determination were included. Among the isolates, 25 (35.2%)
isolates were erythromycin susceptible, 3 (4.2%) were
intermediate and 42 (60.6%) were resistant. Fifty three
isolates (74.7%) were found with mef(A) alone, 15 (21.1%)
isolates with erm(B) + mef(A) combination and 3 (4.2%)
isolates with none of the two genes. The in vitro activity of penicillin, amoxicillin clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone and
cefotaxime is superior to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
and erythromycin. In conclusion, pneumococcal isolates in
this study were highly susceptible to penicillin with very low MICs. However, a very high prevalence rate of erythromycin resistance was observed. Erythromycin resistant S.pneumoniae isolates with both mef(A) and erm(B) showed very high MICs ≥256 μg/mL.
3.Stages of change to increase fruit and vegetable intake and its relationships with fruit and vegetable intake and related psychosocial factors.
Wong CHEE YEN ; Zalilah MOHD SHARIFF ; Mirnalini KANDIAH ; Mohd Nasir MOHD TAIB
Nutrition Research and Practice 2014;8(3):297-303
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Understanding individual's intention, action and maintenance to increase fruit and vegetable intake is an initial step in designing nutrition or health promotion programs. This study aimed to determine stages of change to increase fruit and vegetable intake and its relationships with fruit and vegetable intake, self-efficacy, perceived benefits and perceived barriers. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 348 public university staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire and two days 24-hour diet recall were used. RESULTS: Half of the respondents (50%) were in preparation stage, followed by 43% in action/maintenance, 7% in pre-contemplation/contemplation stages. Respondents in action/maintenance stages had significantly higher self-efficacy (F = 9.17, P < 0.001) and perceived benefits (F = 5.07, P < 0.01) while respondents in pre-contemplation/contemplation and preparation stages had significantly higher perceived barriers (F = 4.83, P < 0.05). Perceived benefits tend to outweigh perceived barriers pre-ceding to taking action. Self-efficacy is important in motivating individuals to increase fruit and vegetable intake as self-efficacy and perceived barriers crossed over between preparation and action/maintenance. Respondents in action/maintenance stages had the highest adjusted mean serving of fruit and vegetable intake (F = 4.52, P < 0.05) but the intake did not meet recommendation. CONCLUSION: Intervention strategies should emphasize on increasing perceived benefits and building self-efficacy by providing knowledge and skills to consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables in order to promote healthy changes in having high fruit and vegetable intake.
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
Diet
;
Fruit*
;
Health Promotion
;
Intention
;
Malaysia
;
Psychology*
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
;
Vegetables*
4.Sociodemographic and Psychological Factors as Predictors of Body Mass Index-for-Age (BAZ) among Adolescents in Sibu, Malaysia
Leh Shii Law ; Wan Ying Gan ; Mohd Nasir Mohd Taib
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2020;16(Supp 6, Aug):56-62
Introduction: Understanding childhood obesity becomes vital as a tremendous increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity among children and adolescents was observed. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the associations between sociodemographic and psychological characteristics with body-mass-index-for-age (BAZ) among adolescents in Sibu, Sarawak. Methods: A total of 375 students (32.0% males and 68.0% females; 15-17 years old) at four randomly selected public secondary schools were recruited. A questionnaire on sociodemographic and psychological characteristics (self-efficacy for physical activity, weight management, and nutrition, body discrepancy score, and sociocultural pressure to be thin) were used to gather information. Body weight and height were also assessed. Results: Around 18.6% respondents were found to be overweight/obese while nearly 5.0% were categorized as thin. In multiple linear regression, three significant predictors, namely body discrepancy score, being Iban (Reference: Chinese) and sociocultural pressure to be thin explained 45.1% of the variance in BMI-for-age z-score. Conclusion: Future interventions on adolescent body weight management should consider incorporating sociodemographic and psychological factors such as the development of positive body image, uniqueness in cultural value, and management of perceived sociocultural pressures to increase their effectiveness
5.Distribution of virulence genes and the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes clinical isolates by emm and multilocus sequence typing methods
Siti Nur Adila Hamzah ; Mohd Nasir Mohd Desa ; Azmiza Syawani Jasn ; Niazlin Mohd Taib ; Siti Norbaya Masri ; Rukman Awang Hamat
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2021;76(2):164-170
Background: Streptococcus pyogenes has a variety of
virulence factors and the predominant invasive strains differ
according to specific emm types and geographical
orientation. Although emm typing is commonly used as the
gold standard method for the molecular characterisation,
multilocus sequence typing (MLST) has become an
important tool for comparing the genetic profiles globally.
This study aimed to screen selected virulence genes from
invasive and non-invasive clinical samples and to
characterise the molecular epidemiology by emm typing and
MLST methods.
Materials and Methods: A total of 42 S. pyogenes isolates
from invasive and non-invasive samples collected from two
different tertiary hospitals were investigated for the
distribution of virulence factors and their molecular
epidemiology by emm and multilocus sequence typing
methods. Detection of five virulence genes (speA, speB,
speJ, ssa and sdaB) was performed using multiplex
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the standard primers
and established protocol. Phylogenetic tree branches were
constructed from sequence analysis utilised by neighbour
joining method generated from seven housekeeping genes
using MEGA X software.
Results: Multiplex PCR analysis revealed that sdaB/speF
(78.6%) and speB (61.9%) were the predominant virulence
genes. Regardless of the type of invasiveness, diverse
distribution of emm types/subtypes was noted which
comprised of 27 different emm types/subtypes. The
predominant emm types/subtypes were emm63 and emm18
with each gene accounted for 11.8% whereas 12% for each
gene was noted for emm28, emm97.4 and emm91. The MLST
revealed that the main sequence type (ST) in invasive
samples was ST402 (17.7%) while ST473 and ST318 (12% for
each ST) were the major types in non-invasive samples. Out
of 18 virulotypes, Virulotype A (five genes, 55.6%) and
Virulotype B (two genes, 27.8%) were the major virulotypes
found in this study. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the
presence of seven different clusters of S. pyogenes.
Interestingly, Cluster VI showed that selected emm/ST types
such as emm71/ST318 (n=2), emm70.1/ST318 (n=1),
emm44/ST31 (n=1) and emm18/ST442 (n=1) have clustered
within a common group (Virulotype A) for both hospitals
studied.
Conclusion: The present study showed that group A
streptococcci (GAS) are genetically diverse and possess
virulence genes regardless of their invasiveness. Majority of
the GAS exhibited no restricted pattern of virulotypes except
for a few distinct clusters. Therefore, it can be concluded
that virulotyping is partially useful for characterising a
heterogeneous population of GAS in hospitals.