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.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
            

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