Mohd Razif Shahril | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (original) (raw)

Papers by Mohd Razif Shahril

Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a practical tool for the measurement of usual food intake i... more Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a practical tool for the measurement of usual food intake in large surveys because it gives a quick approximation to ‘true ’ dietary intake. This study was carried out to compare the semi-quantitative FFQ with three day 24-hour diet recalls (24-hr DR) in assessing intake of energy, total fat, fatty acids and vitamin A, C and E among Malaysian women. This semi-quantitative FFQ which was developed specifically for the Malay and Indian ethnicities has 200 food items and categorized according to three mealtimes namely breakfast, lunch or dinner and morning or afternoon snacks. A total of 51 Malay and 28 Indian women aged between 30 to 60 years were selected as study subjects. The result of the study shows that majority of study subjects were within the normal EI/BMR ratio when their energy intake was assessed by semi-quantitative FFQ (70%) and 24-hr DR (74%). However, 10 % of study subjects became over-reporters when their intakes were assessed usin...

Invasive screening and diagnosis methods for breast cancer make even educated women to desert the... more Invasive screening and diagnosis methods for breast cancer make even educated women to desert the procedure until there is a symptom, in which by the time would be late for treatment. Diet has been associated with breast cancer risk among Asian women compared to their counterparts in Western countries and should be used as a component of risk assessment strategies. Therefore, MyDIETRISK-BCa was developed and validated to rapidly classify individuals into high or low risk group for breast cancer based on Malaysian dietary intake pattern. This self-administered index has a total of 20 items comprises selected epidemiological risk factors and dietary factors related to breast cancer risk. Scores were assigned according to weightage of known Odds Ratios and cut off points were established using Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis with a higher score indicating lower risk of breast cancer. Face validity of MyDIETRISK-BCa was evaluated by health professionals (n=10) and breast can...

International Food Research Journal

Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is comprised of 28 - 30% peel which is a by-product of food processi... more Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is comprised of 28 - 30% peel which is a by-product of food processing. The peel is a source of dietary fibre which has a potential role in glycaemic response. The present work thus aimed to develop formulated MMT peel powder, and examine its organoleptic properties, in vitro hypoglycaemic effect, and starch digestibility. The MMT peel powder was formulated as Formulations 0, 1, 2, and 3 with different sweetener ratios (0, 40, 50, and 60%), and subjected to sensory evaluations. Tukey’s post-hoc test was used to evaluate significant differences between mean values following one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Meanwhile, the Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon signed ranks test were performed for sensory evaluation analysis. Results demonstrated that the most acceptable formulation for consumption assessed using sensory evaluation was Formulation 3; its total, digestible, and resistant starch content were the lowest among all the formulations. The same we...

Asian Journal of Medicine and Biomedicine

Surprisingly, 541 million people have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) worldwide[1]. Prediabetes ... more Surprisingly, 541 million people have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) worldwide[1]. Prediabetes has been associated with an elevated risk of composite cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality2 as well as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than normal glycaemia[1]. In Malaysia, the undiagnosed diabetes prevalence has increased3. Health profile and nutritional status play a crucial role in prediabetes development. However, there is a scarcity of related health profile characteristics and nutritional status data in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the health profile and nutritional status of adults at risk of T2DM in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. A total of 30 respondents at moderate and high risk of T2DM (Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (FINDRISC) score > 4) aged 18 to 59 years old were recruited from Kuala Nerus using a convenience sampling method. Information on socio-demograph...

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been increasingly used in recent years as an alternative treatment to maintain well-... more Hypnosis has been increasingly used in recent years as an alternative treatment to maintain well-being. Yet, limited evidence is available regarding its role in weight management, especially in Malaysia. Hence, this quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hypnosis on weight loss and body composition (body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage) among staff and students of a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia. Participants with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to either intervention group (IG = 53) or control group (CG = 54), for 12 weeks. All participants received health education (diet + exercise + behavioral recommendations) with those in IG had additional three hypnotherapy sessions, once a month. Body weight was measured at week 1, 7, and 12 while body compositions were measured at weeks 1 and 12. Descriptive, univariate, and repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were utilized. A total of 104 participants completed the trial (mean age = 26.28 ± 8.01; female = 82.2%; BMI = 31.39 ± 4.89). A significant weight loss was observed in the intervention (-4.61%) and control (-3.04%) groups (mean difference = -1.57; 95%CI: -2.59, -0.54; p = .003) after 12 weeks. Participants that frequently practiced self-hypnosis lost more weight (-6.27%; t(50) = -5.331, p < .001). Body fat percentage and waist circumference did not significantly change from baseline in both groups. Essentially, the positive outcomes indicated the promising potential of hypnosis as an alternative tool in facilitating weight loss efforts for those in need.

Frontiers in Public Health

IntroductionLike many other countries, the federal government of Malaysia took the initiative to ... more IntroductionLike many other countries, the federal government of Malaysia took the initiative to implement nationwide home confinement as a preventive measure in response to the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak, better known as Movement Control Order (MCO). Many have suffered economically, which led to poor states of well-being. This study investigates the relationship between lifestyle, psychological factors affecting eating habits, and physical activity among government servants in states with the highest cumulative cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 210 government servants from four states (Selangor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor) from May 2021 to June 2021. Three validated questionnaires were used, namely, Emotional-Eater Questionnaire (EEQ), and Malay International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-M) from López-Moreno et al. (1).ResultsThere were significant gender differences (P < 0.001) for supplement intake, with ...

Background: Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) peel has a high dietary fiber content, but there is no d... more Background: Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) peel has a high dietary fiber content, but there is no data examining its health benefits in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether consumption of MMT peel powder improves glycemic response, satiety, and food intake in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.Methods: An open-label, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design trial was conducted among adults (n = 30, ages 18–59 y) at risk of type 2 diabetes. They consumed Formulation 3 (formulated MMT peel powder) [A] and control (glucose) [B] with study breakfast based on randomly assigned treatment sequences (AB, BA) established by Research Randomizer (www.randomizer.org). Capillary blood glucose and perceived satiety were determined at baseline (0 min), 30, 60, 90 and 120 min, followed by a post-intervention food intake measurement.Results: Respondents (n = 30) who consumed Formulation 3 had a significantly lower blood glucose 2-hour incremental...

Jurnal Gizi dan Pangan, 2022

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the determinants of underweight among preschool c... more This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the determinants of underweight among preschool children. A total of 218 preschool children were enrolled. Their sociodemographic data were collected using self-reported questionnaires whilst body weight and height were measured, recorded and the BMI forage z-score was calculated using WHO AnthroPlus software. Of all preschool children participants, 47.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Most of them were Malays (99.5%), aged 4 to <5 years (40.8%) and came from low-income household (92.7%). Overall, the prevalence of underweight, normal, overweight and obese was 17.9%, 73.8%, 4.6% and 3.7% respectively. The underweight prevalence was higher than the national prevalence (13.7%). Of all parent participants, 12.4% were male and 87.6% were female. Most of them aged 30−39 years (55.5%) and did not hold a degree (89.4%). Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental age and their level of education were the determinants of childhood underweight. The risk of being underweight increased with the age of parents (p=0.033) and lower level of education of parents (p=0.042). In conclusion, this study found that underweight among preschool children was mainly associated with parental factors. Hence, designing a special nutritional intervention program involving older parents and lower education levels could overcome this problem.

Objective: This review aimed to identify the effect of physical activity in reducing depression s... more Objective: This review aimed to identify the effect of physical activity in reducing depression symptoms during pregnancy through scoping review. Material and Methods: A scoping review of English academic journals was conducted using three electronic databases (Scopus, EBSCOHost and Science Direct) from 2015 to 2019. The research articles related to any type of physical activity or exercise during pregnancy for depression were included, while review and articles on pregnancy-related diseases such as gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and mental disorder were excluded. Results: Among 123 articles of the search results of electronic databases, only 14 articles were eligible. The sample size ranged from 36 to 18,040 participants, aged 18 to 45 years old. Most of the studies involving pregnant women in their second and third trimesters who practice physical activity regularly showed a reduction in depression and anxiety level. Conclusions: Physical activity during pregnancy re...

Cucumis melo L. possesses numerous medicinal and nutritive functions due to the rich sources of b... more Cucumis melo L. possesses numerous medicinal and nutritive functions due to the rich sources of biological active compounds. However, Cucumis melo L. processing generate by-products that threaten the environment. This study aims to explore the bioactive compounds present in different melon parts and the fruit’s beneficial health effects. A methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley was used to conduct the scoping review. An electronic database search for English academic articles was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect encompassing years between 1999 and 2019. All types of studies, excluding systematic review or review papers were eligible for inclusion. Out of 602 studies identified, a total of 18 studies were included. Both peels and seeds were rich in phenolic compounds. The seed oil contained rich sources of tocopherols, while β-carotene and vitamin C were found in the flesh. Next, the main beneficial health effects included antioxidant, anti-inflammat...

Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 2022

Introduction: Eating-out is common in almost all countries, including Malaysia, but this frequent... more Introduction: Eating-out is common in almost all countries, including Malaysia, but this frequent practice may affect human health. In Malaysia, data on eating-out is limited. This study aimed to assess the proportion of eating-out, to assess the association between socio-demographic factors and eating patterns, and to compare energy and nutrient intakes between people eating-out and eating-in. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 adults aged 30 to 70 years old. Three-day food diaries were used to collect data on dietary intake. Eating-out was defined as eating foods prepared outside the home. Respondents who ate outside for at least one meal per day, for two or three days per week were considered as those who frequently practised eating-out. Results: A total of 84% of respondents who ate out had significantly higher sodium intake than those who ate at home (2934 mg/day vs. 2165 mg/day, p=0.025). Foods and drinks that were most commonly consumed outside were n...

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017

Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decad... more Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decades. Addressing potential risk factors of obesity among adolescents is very important for a successful intervention program in this population. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic determinants of obesity among school adolescents in Terengganu. A cross-sectional survey involving 3,798 school adolescents age 12 years old from 136 government primary schools in Kuala Terengganu and Besut districts were carried out from November 2014 to June 2015. For the purpose of this paper, the data for 2,842 school adolescents classified as either normal BMI (< +1SD) (n= 2,305) or obese (+2SD) (n= 537) based on WHO cut-off points were taken for analysis. Sociodemographic information on subjects and their parents were obtained from self-reported questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were conducted by Physical Education teachers and uploaded into a specific developed database. T...

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017

Despite being effective in promoting healthy dietary behaviour, smartphone apps are scarcely avai... more Despite being effective in promoting healthy dietary behaviour, smartphone apps are scarcely available for our local communities and the majority of nutritional-related information is based on western food selections. Our new innovation aims to provide specific educational advice about recommended food intake, types, nutritional qualities and weight issues for cancer patients and survivors who suffer appetite problems and nutritional deficits. The Cancer Dietary (CanDi) app was developed as a convenient, flexible and attractively engaging smartphone app containing healthy tips which are uniquely tailored to the local food choices, preferences and ingredients. This helps customise users’ dietary needs besides permitting constant information up-dating. Features are broadly categorised into Healthy Eating Guide (advice from healthy eating to eating problems, weight loss prevention and increasing proteins and calories intake) and Malaysian Recipes For Cancer Patients (focusing on common...

A comprehensive dietary assessment tool to capture data on the wide variety of food and nutrient ... more A comprehensive dietary assessment tool to capture data on the wide variety of food and nutrient intakes across different regions and ethnic groups is needed to establish diet-disease relationship. Therefore the aim of this study is to develop a computer-based, interviewer-administered dietary assessment system linked to a nutrient database. This dietary assessment system or Dietary Information Management System (DIMS) consist of three modules i.e. a nutrient database, an interactive computerized 24-h diet recall and finally the computerized semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). A sub-sample of 10,000 participants was purposely selected from 106,527 participants of The Malaysian Cohort (TMC) project for the development of DIMS nutrient database module and 24-h diet recall module. Further, a sub-sample of 800 participants based on good quality data of a single 24-h diet recall and 2-d diet record were selected to represent the TMC participants for the development of f...

The International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2017

Rapid development in the urbanisation process is linked to a shift in dietary intake and lifestyl... more Rapid development in the urbanisation process is linked to a shift in dietary intake and lifestyle. The locality may also determine the differences in socio-demographic and environmental factors related to nutrition between the rural and urban populations. The present study aimed to determine prevalence of obesity and to compare the body weight status on body weight status among school adolescents aged 10 to 17 years within districts of Terengganu. A cross sectional survey involving school adolescents aged 10 to 17 years from all government school in seven districts in Terengganu were carried out. Anthropometrics data were obtained from National Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessment which was uploaded into specific developed database Health Monitoring System (HEMS) and BMI were classified using WHO BMI-for-age zscore. A total of 62,567 school adolescents were involved in this study. Girls had significantly higher BMI than boys in age groups of 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 years old. There we...

International students usually experience a change in body weight and eating behaviour after migr... more International students usually experience a change in body weight and eating behaviour after migrating to a host country. The aim of this study is to determine the factors associated with body weight changes among Nigerian postgraduate students at Unversiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia. A prospective study was conducted for six months to determine the association between body weight changes and socio-demographic, eating behavior, physical activity, dietary intake and quality of life. A total of 82 students (76 male and six females) completed a set of self-administered questionnaires, and their weight and height were measured. Descriptive statistic and paired t-test were carried out to analyze the data (IBM SPSS Version 20.0). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors. Body weight significantly increased by 2.3 ± 0.5 kg after 6 months. Being an art student (β=1.67, p=0.006), being a female (β=-2.68, p=0.009), consuming breakfast once a week...

Nutrients, 2021

Dietary pattern (DP) and its relationship with disease biomarkers have received recognition in nu... more Dietary pattern (DP) and its relationship with disease biomarkers have received recognition in nutritional epidemiology investigations. However, DP relationships with adipokines (i.e., adiponectin and leptin) among breast cancer survivors remain unclear. Therefore, we assessed relationships between DP and high-molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin and leptin concentration among breast cancer survivors. This cross-sectional study involved 128 breast cancer survivors who attended the oncology outpatient clinic at two main government hospitals in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The serum concentration of HMW adiponectin and leptin were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. A reduced rank regression method was used to analyze DP. Relationships between DP with HMW adiponectin and leptin were examined using regression models. The findings show that with every 1-unit increase in the ‘energy-dense, high-SFA, low-fiber’ DP z-score, there was a reduction by 0.41 μ...

Sains Malaysiana, 2017

To compile and analyse existing scientific evidence regarding the association of dietary patterns... more To compile and analyse existing scientific evidence regarding the association of dietary patterns with adiponectin and leptin. Medline and PubMed electronic databases were searched for articles related to the association of dietary patterns with adiponectin and leptin from 2005 to 2015. Only full text articles using English as a language of publication were included. Studies were limited to the use of food frequency questionnaires in assessing dietary intake, factor analysis using principal component analysis, cluster analysis or reduced rank regression method in determining dietary pattern. A total of six relevant studies involving a total of 6467 subjects (47% men and 53% women) met the inclusion criteria from 1407 reviewed articles Twelve dietary patterns were extracted i.e. healthy pattern, meat and fat, sweet pattern, potatoes and refined grains, Japanese pattern, westernized pattern, mixed pattern, traditional pattern, vegetables, fruits and lean meat pattern, high alcohol, 'Izakaya' pattern and dieting. Two studies showed association with leptin which serum leptin concentration showed significantly higher in vegetables, fruits and lean meat compared to western pattern and lower circulating levels of leptin in westernized breakfast dietary pattern. Adiponectin concentration resulting significant positive relationship with fruits and vegetables, dieting, Japanese and healthy dietary pattern. Adherence to healthy dietary patterns plays an important role on serum adiponectin and leptin concentration. However, in most studies that resulted in a significant relationship, adiponectin, leptin and diet components were evaluated separately. Therefore, further well-designed studies were required to clarify the mechanism mediating relationship between dietary patterns and adipokines.

Asian Journal of Medicine and Biomedicine, 2020

The prevalence of anaemia amongst pregnant women in developing countries is increasing yearly, pa... more The prevalence of anaemia amongst pregnant women in developing countries is increasing yearly, particularly in Malaysia. This problem may be due to their lack of knowledge of anaemia and food choice. This study aimed to measure the knowledge levels on anaemia and iron absorption amongst pregnant women in Kuala Terengganu, as well as the association of knowledge levels between socio-demographic characteristics. Pregnant women were selected from government health clinics located in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. A total of 71 pregnant women aged between 18 and 44 years participated in the study. They self-administered the socio-demographic form and the knowledge questionnaire. Overall, they had moderate knowledge level with mean score of 57.41 ± 4.80. A significant association was found between knowledge level and monthly household income (p<0.05). Meanwhile, no significant association was found between knowledge level with socio-demographic characteristics (age, gravida, occupation, ...

Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a practical tool for the measurement of usual food intake i... more Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a practical tool for the measurement of usual food intake in large surveys because it gives a quick approximation to ‘true ’ dietary intake. This study was carried out to compare the semi-quantitative FFQ with three day 24-hour diet recalls (24-hr DR) in assessing intake of energy, total fat, fatty acids and vitamin A, C and E among Malaysian women. This semi-quantitative FFQ which was developed specifically for the Malay and Indian ethnicities has 200 food items and categorized according to three mealtimes namely breakfast, lunch or dinner and morning or afternoon snacks. A total of 51 Malay and 28 Indian women aged between 30 to 60 years were selected as study subjects. The result of the study shows that majority of study subjects were within the normal EI/BMR ratio when their energy intake was assessed by semi-quantitative FFQ (70%) and 24-hr DR (74%). However, 10 % of study subjects became over-reporters when their intakes were assessed usin...

Invasive screening and diagnosis methods for breast cancer make even educated women to desert the... more Invasive screening and diagnosis methods for breast cancer make even educated women to desert the procedure until there is a symptom, in which by the time would be late for treatment. Diet has been associated with breast cancer risk among Asian women compared to their counterparts in Western countries and should be used as a component of risk assessment strategies. Therefore, MyDIETRISK-BCa was developed and validated to rapidly classify individuals into high or low risk group for breast cancer based on Malaysian dietary intake pattern. This self-administered index has a total of 20 items comprises selected epidemiological risk factors and dietary factors related to breast cancer risk. Scores were assigned according to weightage of known Odds Ratios and cut off points were established using Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis with a higher score indicating lower risk of breast cancer. Face validity of MyDIETRISK-BCa was evaluated by health professionals (n=10) and breast can...

International Food Research Journal

Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is comprised of 28 - 30% peel which is a by-product of food processi... more Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is comprised of 28 - 30% peel which is a by-product of food processing. The peel is a source of dietary fibre which has a potential role in glycaemic response. The present work thus aimed to develop formulated MMT peel powder, and examine its organoleptic properties, in vitro hypoglycaemic effect, and starch digestibility. The MMT peel powder was formulated as Formulations 0, 1, 2, and 3 with different sweetener ratios (0, 40, 50, and 60%), and subjected to sensory evaluations. Tukey’s post-hoc test was used to evaluate significant differences between mean values following one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Meanwhile, the Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon signed ranks test were performed for sensory evaluation analysis. Results demonstrated that the most acceptable formulation for consumption assessed using sensory evaluation was Formulation 3; its total, digestible, and resistant starch content were the lowest among all the formulations. The same we...

Asian Journal of Medicine and Biomedicine

Surprisingly, 541 million people have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) worldwide[1]. Prediabetes ... more Surprisingly, 541 million people have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) worldwide[1]. Prediabetes has been associated with an elevated risk of composite cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality2 as well as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than normal glycaemia[1]. In Malaysia, the undiagnosed diabetes prevalence has increased3. Health profile and nutritional status play a crucial role in prediabetes development. However, there is a scarcity of related health profile characteristics and nutritional status data in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the health profile and nutritional status of adults at risk of T2DM in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. A total of 30 respondents at moderate and high risk of T2DM (Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (FINDRISC) score > 4) aged 18 to 59 years old were recruited from Kuala Nerus using a convenience sampling method. Information on socio-demograph...

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been increasingly used in recent years as an alternative treatment to maintain well-... more Hypnosis has been increasingly used in recent years as an alternative treatment to maintain well-being. Yet, limited evidence is available regarding its role in weight management, especially in Malaysia. Hence, this quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hypnosis on weight loss and body composition (body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage) among staff and students of a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia. Participants with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to either intervention group (IG = 53) or control group (CG = 54), for 12 weeks. All participants received health education (diet + exercise + behavioral recommendations) with those in IG had additional three hypnotherapy sessions, once a month. Body weight was measured at week 1, 7, and 12 while body compositions were measured at weeks 1 and 12. Descriptive, univariate, and repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were utilized. A total of 104 participants completed the trial (mean age = 26.28 ± 8.01; female = 82.2%; BMI = 31.39 ± 4.89). A significant weight loss was observed in the intervention (-4.61%) and control (-3.04%) groups (mean difference = -1.57; 95%CI: -2.59, -0.54; p = .003) after 12 weeks. Participants that frequently practiced self-hypnosis lost more weight (-6.27%; t(50) = -5.331, p < .001). Body fat percentage and waist circumference did not significantly change from baseline in both groups. Essentially, the positive outcomes indicated the promising potential of hypnosis as an alternative tool in facilitating weight loss efforts for those in need.

Frontiers in Public Health

IntroductionLike many other countries, the federal government of Malaysia took the initiative to ... more IntroductionLike many other countries, the federal government of Malaysia took the initiative to implement nationwide home confinement as a preventive measure in response to the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak, better known as Movement Control Order (MCO). Many have suffered economically, which led to poor states of well-being. This study investigates the relationship between lifestyle, psychological factors affecting eating habits, and physical activity among government servants in states with the highest cumulative cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 210 government servants from four states (Selangor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor) from May 2021 to June 2021. Three validated questionnaires were used, namely, Emotional-Eater Questionnaire (EEQ), and Malay International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-M) from López-Moreno et al. (1).ResultsThere were significant gender differences (P < 0.001) for supplement intake, with ...

Background: Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) peel has a high dietary fiber content, but there is no d... more Background: Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) peel has a high dietary fiber content, but there is no data examining its health benefits in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether consumption of MMT peel powder improves glycemic response, satiety, and food intake in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.Methods: An open-label, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design trial was conducted among adults (n = 30, ages 18–59 y) at risk of type 2 diabetes. They consumed Formulation 3 (formulated MMT peel powder) [A] and control (glucose) [B] with study breakfast based on randomly assigned treatment sequences (AB, BA) established by Research Randomizer (www.randomizer.org). Capillary blood glucose and perceived satiety were determined at baseline (0 min), 30, 60, 90 and 120 min, followed by a post-intervention food intake measurement.Results: Respondents (n = 30) who consumed Formulation 3 had a significantly lower blood glucose 2-hour incremental...

Jurnal Gizi dan Pangan, 2022

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the determinants of underweight among preschool c... more This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the determinants of underweight among preschool children. A total of 218 preschool children were enrolled. Their sociodemographic data were collected using self-reported questionnaires whilst body weight and height were measured, recorded and the BMI forage z-score was calculated using WHO AnthroPlus software. Of all preschool children participants, 47.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Most of them were Malays (99.5%), aged 4 to <5 years (40.8%) and came from low-income household (92.7%). Overall, the prevalence of underweight, normal, overweight and obese was 17.9%, 73.8%, 4.6% and 3.7% respectively. The underweight prevalence was higher than the national prevalence (13.7%). Of all parent participants, 12.4% were male and 87.6% were female. Most of them aged 30−39 years (55.5%) and did not hold a degree (89.4%). Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental age and their level of education were the determinants of childhood underweight. The risk of being underweight increased with the age of parents (p=0.033) and lower level of education of parents (p=0.042). In conclusion, this study found that underweight among preschool children was mainly associated with parental factors. Hence, designing a special nutritional intervention program involving older parents and lower education levels could overcome this problem.

Objective: This review aimed to identify the effect of physical activity in reducing depression s... more Objective: This review aimed to identify the effect of physical activity in reducing depression symptoms during pregnancy through scoping review. Material and Methods: A scoping review of English academic journals was conducted using three electronic databases (Scopus, EBSCOHost and Science Direct) from 2015 to 2019. The research articles related to any type of physical activity or exercise during pregnancy for depression were included, while review and articles on pregnancy-related diseases such as gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and mental disorder were excluded. Results: Among 123 articles of the search results of electronic databases, only 14 articles were eligible. The sample size ranged from 36 to 18,040 participants, aged 18 to 45 years old. Most of the studies involving pregnant women in their second and third trimesters who practice physical activity regularly showed a reduction in depression and anxiety level. Conclusions: Physical activity during pregnancy re...

Cucumis melo L. possesses numerous medicinal and nutritive functions due to the rich sources of b... more Cucumis melo L. possesses numerous medicinal and nutritive functions due to the rich sources of biological active compounds. However, Cucumis melo L. processing generate by-products that threaten the environment. This study aims to explore the bioactive compounds present in different melon parts and the fruit’s beneficial health effects. A methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley was used to conduct the scoping review. An electronic database search for English academic articles was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect encompassing years between 1999 and 2019. All types of studies, excluding systematic review or review papers were eligible for inclusion. Out of 602 studies identified, a total of 18 studies were included. Both peels and seeds were rich in phenolic compounds. The seed oil contained rich sources of tocopherols, while β-carotene and vitamin C were found in the flesh. Next, the main beneficial health effects included antioxidant, anti-inflammat...

Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 2022

Introduction: Eating-out is common in almost all countries, including Malaysia, but this frequent... more Introduction: Eating-out is common in almost all countries, including Malaysia, but this frequent practice may affect human health. In Malaysia, data on eating-out is limited. This study aimed to assess the proportion of eating-out, to assess the association between socio-demographic factors and eating patterns, and to compare energy and nutrient intakes between people eating-out and eating-in. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 adults aged 30 to 70 years old. Three-day food diaries were used to collect data on dietary intake. Eating-out was defined as eating foods prepared outside the home. Respondents who ate outside for at least one meal per day, for two or three days per week were considered as those who frequently practised eating-out. Results: A total of 84% of respondents who ate out had significantly higher sodium intake than those who ate at home (2934 mg/day vs. 2165 mg/day, p=0.025). Foods and drinks that were most commonly consumed outside were n...

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017

Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decad... more Worldwide prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased substantially over decades. Addressing potential risk factors of obesity among adolescents is very important for a successful intervention program in this population. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic determinants of obesity among school adolescents in Terengganu. A cross-sectional survey involving 3,798 school adolescents age 12 years old from 136 government primary schools in Kuala Terengganu and Besut districts were carried out from November 2014 to June 2015. For the purpose of this paper, the data for 2,842 school adolescents classified as either normal BMI (< +1SD) (n= 2,305) or obese (+2SD) (n= 537) based on WHO cut-off points were taken for analysis. Sociodemographic information on subjects and their parents were obtained from self-reported questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were conducted by Physical Education teachers and uploaded into a specific developed database. T...

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017

Despite being effective in promoting healthy dietary behaviour, smartphone apps are scarcely avai... more Despite being effective in promoting healthy dietary behaviour, smartphone apps are scarcely available for our local communities and the majority of nutritional-related information is based on western food selections. Our new innovation aims to provide specific educational advice about recommended food intake, types, nutritional qualities and weight issues for cancer patients and survivors who suffer appetite problems and nutritional deficits. The Cancer Dietary (CanDi) app was developed as a convenient, flexible and attractively engaging smartphone app containing healthy tips which are uniquely tailored to the local food choices, preferences and ingredients. This helps customise users’ dietary needs besides permitting constant information up-dating. Features are broadly categorised into Healthy Eating Guide (advice from healthy eating to eating problems, weight loss prevention and increasing proteins and calories intake) and Malaysian Recipes For Cancer Patients (focusing on common...

A comprehensive dietary assessment tool to capture data on the wide variety of food and nutrient ... more A comprehensive dietary assessment tool to capture data on the wide variety of food and nutrient intakes across different regions and ethnic groups is needed to establish diet-disease relationship. Therefore the aim of this study is to develop a computer-based, interviewer-administered dietary assessment system linked to a nutrient database. This dietary assessment system or Dietary Information Management System (DIMS) consist of three modules i.e. a nutrient database, an interactive computerized 24-h diet recall and finally the computerized semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). A sub-sample of 10,000 participants was purposely selected from 106,527 participants of The Malaysian Cohort (TMC) project for the development of DIMS nutrient database module and 24-h diet recall module. Further, a sub-sample of 800 participants based on good quality data of a single 24-h diet recall and 2-d diet record were selected to represent the TMC participants for the development of f...

The International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2017

Rapid development in the urbanisation process is linked to a shift in dietary intake and lifestyl... more Rapid development in the urbanisation process is linked to a shift in dietary intake and lifestyle. The locality may also determine the differences in socio-demographic and environmental factors related to nutrition between the rural and urban populations. The present study aimed to determine prevalence of obesity and to compare the body weight status on body weight status among school adolescents aged 10 to 17 years within districts of Terengganu. A cross sectional survey involving school adolescents aged 10 to 17 years from all government school in seven districts in Terengganu were carried out. Anthropometrics data were obtained from National Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessment which was uploaded into specific developed database Health Monitoring System (HEMS) and BMI were classified using WHO BMI-for-age zscore. A total of 62,567 school adolescents were involved in this study. Girls had significantly higher BMI than boys in age groups of 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 years old. There we...

International students usually experience a change in body weight and eating behaviour after migr... more International students usually experience a change in body weight and eating behaviour after migrating to a host country. The aim of this study is to determine the factors associated with body weight changes among Nigerian postgraduate students at Unversiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia. A prospective study was conducted for six months to determine the association between body weight changes and socio-demographic, eating behavior, physical activity, dietary intake and quality of life. A total of 82 students (76 male and six females) completed a set of self-administered questionnaires, and their weight and height were measured. Descriptive statistic and paired t-test were carried out to analyze the data (IBM SPSS Version 20.0). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors. Body weight significantly increased by 2.3 ± 0.5 kg after 6 months. Being an art student (β=1.67, p=0.006), being a female (β=-2.68, p=0.009), consuming breakfast once a week...

Nutrients, 2021

Dietary pattern (DP) and its relationship with disease biomarkers have received recognition in nu... more Dietary pattern (DP) and its relationship with disease biomarkers have received recognition in nutritional epidemiology investigations. However, DP relationships with adipokines (i.e., adiponectin and leptin) among breast cancer survivors remain unclear. Therefore, we assessed relationships between DP and high-molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin and leptin concentration among breast cancer survivors. This cross-sectional study involved 128 breast cancer survivors who attended the oncology outpatient clinic at two main government hospitals in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The serum concentration of HMW adiponectin and leptin were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. A reduced rank regression method was used to analyze DP. Relationships between DP with HMW adiponectin and leptin were examined using regression models. The findings show that with every 1-unit increase in the ‘energy-dense, high-SFA, low-fiber’ DP z-score, there was a reduction by 0.41 μ...

Sains Malaysiana, 2017

To compile and analyse existing scientific evidence regarding the association of dietary patterns... more To compile and analyse existing scientific evidence regarding the association of dietary patterns with adiponectin and leptin. Medline and PubMed electronic databases were searched for articles related to the association of dietary patterns with adiponectin and leptin from 2005 to 2015. Only full text articles using English as a language of publication were included. Studies were limited to the use of food frequency questionnaires in assessing dietary intake, factor analysis using principal component analysis, cluster analysis or reduced rank regression method in determining dietary pattern. A total of six relevant studies involving a total of 6467 subjects (47% men and 53% women) met the inclusion criteria from 1407 reviewed articles Twelve dietary patterns were extracted i.e. healthy pattern, meat and fat, sweet pattern, potatoes and refined grains, Japanese pattern, westernized pattern, mixed pattern, traditional pattern, vegetables, fruits and lean meat pattern, high alcohol, 'Izakaya' pattern and dieting. Two studies showed association with leptin which serum leptin concentration showed significantly higher in vegetables, fruits and lean meat compared to western pattern and lower circulating levels of leptin in westernized breakfast dietary pattern. Adiponectin concentration resulting significant positive relationship with fruits and vegetables, dieting, Japanese and healthy dietary pattern. Adherence to healthy dietary patterns plays an important role on serum adiponectin and leptin concentration. However, in most studies that resulted in a significant relationship, adiponectin, leptin and diet components were evaluated separately. Therefore, further well-designed studies were required to clarify the mechanism mediating relationship between dietary patterns and adipokines.

Asian Journal of Medicine and Biomedicine, 2020

The prevalence of anaemia amongst pregnant women in developing countries is increasing yearly, pa... more The prevalence of anaemia amongst pregnant women in developing countries is increasing yearly, particularly in Malaysia. This problem may be due to their lack of knowledge of anaemia and food choice. This study aimed to measure the knowledge levels on anaemia and iron absorption amongst pregnant women in Kuala Terengganu, as well as the association of knowledge levels between socio-demographic characteristics. Pregnant women were selected from government health clinics located in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. A total of 71 pregnant women aged between 18 and 44 years participated in the study. They self-administered the socio-demographic form and the knowledge questionnaire. Overall, they had moderate knowledge level with mean score of 57.41 ± 4.80. A significant association was found between knowledge level and monthly household income (p<0.05). Meanwhile, no significant association was found between knowledge level with socio-demographic characteristics (age, gravida, occupation, ...