Development and assessment of the reliability and validity of a diet quality index in a sample of Malaysia university students

Despite the fact that university students are at risk of having a poor diet quality, there is no reliable and valid instrument to measure the diet quality of Malaysian university students. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate a diet quality index among a sample of Malaysian university students, and assess their diet quality. The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and Malaysian Food Pyramid were used in the formulation of a diet quality index. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 students at a local university. Data collected through face-to-face interview was used to determine the reliability and validity of the diet quality index. The diet quality of participants was also assessed and they were categorised into ‘at risk’ and ‘at lower risk’ of poor diet quality. A Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.780, mean inter-item correlation of 0.353 and corrected-item total correlation above 0.3 were found after five items were deleted from the index. Principal component analysis revealed the presence of four components with eigenvalues exceeding 1. Only one component explaining 41.7% of variance was retained. This component consisted of seven items. The index also showed known-group validity with respect to gender with females (19.0) having higher median diet quality scores than males (18.0) (p=0.006). Diet quality scores showed significant negative correlation with sugar intake (r=-0.150, p=0.008) and significant positive correlation with intakes of fibre and nine micronutrients (p<0.05). The percentage of participants ‘at risk’ and ‘at lower risk’ of poor diet quality were 23.1% and 76.9% respectively. The 7-item diet quality index is a short, interviewer-administered, valid and reliable instrument to measure the diet quality of Malaysian university students. External validation will extend the application of this diet quality index

The effects of probiotics on body weight and biomarkers of animal

Obesity is associated with the alteration of the gut microbiota. In order to determine the effects of probiotics on body weight management and its related biomarkers we performed a systematic review using clinical trial, interventional and experimental studies. We performed a broad search with no date restriction. Primary outcomes were included the parameters related to body weight management. Secondary outcomes were inflammatory markers, lipid profile, blood glucose and insulin level. A total of 12 animal studies were identified. Among these, six studies reported the significant changes in body weight and all the studies had documented significant improvements in at least one body weight related parameter. However, inflammatory markers and lipid profile were significantly improved in the animal model; changes in body weight and energy intake that could be due to probiotics supplementation were controversial. Different strains of gut microbiota have different effects on weight changes. Further studies are needed to identify the role of gut microbiota on weight regulation of human

Effect of raw and heated flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) on blood lipid profiles in rats.

Flaxseed is a nutrient rich seed and lipid profiles improving effect of it has long been studied. Effect of heating as a part of food processing on its beneficial characteristics is not clarified in literature. This study aims to provide complementary information on effect of different dosages of raw and heated flaxseed on lipid profiles. Sprague Dawley rats were fed with 10%, 20% or 30% of either raw or heated flaxseed in the basal diet for 30 days. Total cholesterol significantly reduced in all flaxseed groups and high density lipoprotein cholesterol significantly increased in 20% raw and 30% raw and heated flaxseed groups. Significant reduction of low density lipoprotein cholesterol only observed in 30% raw flaxseed groups. It is concluded that 30 days consumption of flaxseed may significantly reduce total cholesterol and increase high density lipoprotein cholesterol in blood. Oven heating may not have significant effect on lipid profile improving effect of flaxseed

Factors associated with body weight status among students in infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The occurrence of obesity and overweight status in the population has caught public attention. This is in line with the World Health Organization's concern (2013). The present study aimed to determine factors associated with body weight status among students in Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to asses physical activity level, environmental factors affecting physical activity level and their association with body weight status among 280 students in Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The mean of respondent’s total physical activity per week was 3988.50 ± 6758.45 METs minute/week. This was significantly higher (t = 3.020, p = 0.003) among male respondents (5496.37 ± 7860.26 METs minute/week) compared to females (3032.93 ± 5779.55 METs minutes/week). The overall environmental supports for physical activity among the respondents were at moderate level (2.17 ± 0.72), although the total environmental supports for physical activity among female is slightly higher compared to male (2.17 ± 0.77 vs 2.15 ± 0.63), no significant different was observed (t = - 0.25; p = 0.805). In general over weight / obese status was highly prevalent among those with low involvement with neighbourhood environment for physical activity (28%) (the lowest quartile). Although adjusted crude analysis of support to neighbourhood environment for physical activity showed reverse associations with overweight / obese status, no significant trend was observed

Athlete’s nutrition knowledge and their perception and satisfaction in the foodservice quality of the athlete’s cafeteria

This study investigated athletes’ perceptions and satisfactions on the foodservice quality of the athlete’s cafeteria as well as their knowledge on nutrition. Four dimensions namely food quality, meal service quality, staff/service issues, and dining environments and their overall satisfactions were investigated. Athletes were most satisfied with the meal service quality dimension and least satisfied with the food quality dimension. The food quality and staff/service issues dimensions were found to be the two predictors of overall foodservice satisfaction. Thus, more implementations should be taken to enhance the quality of foods and services at the cafeteria that catered for the athletes

The prevalence and symptoms characteristic of functional constipation using Rome III diagnostic criteria among tertiary education students

Background and Aims Functional constipation is very common with heterogeneous symptoms that have substantial impact on patient quality of life as well as medical resources which are rarely reported as life-threatening. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence and symptoms characteristic of functional constipation (FC) by using Rome III diagnostic criteria among tertiary education students with an intention to introduce treatment in the future. Methods Demographic, socio-economics characteristics and symptoms of FC using the Rome III criteria were sought using a questionnaire administered to Malaysian students in a tertiary education setting. Other data obtained were the general health status, lifestyle factors and anthropometric measurements. Using a simple random sampling method, a total of 1662 students were recruited in the study with a response rate of 95.0%. Sampled data are presented as frequency and percentage and stratified accordingly into categories for Chi-square analysis. Results The prevalence of functional constipation among the students was 16.2%, with a significantly higher prevalence among women (17.4%) than men (12.5%). Hard or lumpy stool, incomplete evacuation, anorectal obstruction and straining were reported as the commonest symptoms experienced. Type 3 was the most frequent stool consistency experienced among the constipated individuals (35.2%). Only 4.4% of individuals reported having less than three defecations per week. Using univariable analysis, FC was significantly associated with sex (odds ratio: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.06–2.06) and age group (odds ratio: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.01–1.79) with P value < 0.05 significance level. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only sex was found significantly associated with FC (adjusted odds ratio: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.08–2.17, P < 0.05). Conclusions Based on the prevalence rate, constipation is a common problem among tertiary education students (16.2%), with significantly more prevalence among the female respondents. Early detection of symptoms and further intervention studies focusing on treatment recommendation in improving the symptoms are essential

Influence of social facilitation on energy intake among university students. a laboratory study

Background: Eating with companions or eating in the presence of other people at mealtime has been shown can impact energy intake through social facilitation effect. Social facilitation may influence the adoption of undesirable energy intake and thus may affect an individual's weight status. Objective: This study assessed the effect of social facilitation on energy intake among participants in a laboratory setting. Method: Sixty-four participants (50 female and 14 male students) from a public university participated in three standardized lunch buffet sessions under three social facilitation situations: eat alone, eat with unfamiliar peers, and eat with familiar peers. The lunch session was scheduled one week apart. The participants were invited to serve themselves in three lunch buffets which consisted of white rice, chicken dish, spicy fermented soybean (tempeh) and stir-fried vegetable. Result: Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed statistically significant effect of social facilitation situations on energy intake among the students (p-value< 0.05). On average, the total energy intake for lunch was found to increase when the students ate with familiar peers (705 ± 170 kcal) compared to eating in a group of unfamiliar peers (587 ± 129 kcal) and eating alone 545 ± 119 kcal). Conclusion: This evidence supports the hypothesis that social facilitation affects students’ energy intake where the impact is greater when eating in a group of familiar peers

Associations between weight teasing by peers, self esteem, and academic related stressors with body weight status among adolescents in Hulu Langat district, Selangor, Malaysia

Introduction: Growing evidence highlighting the physical health risks linked with adolescent obesity and yet little is known on the role of psychosocial factors on the body weight status of adolescents. A cross sectional study was conducted to ascertain the associations between psychosocial factors (operationalised as weight teasing by peers, self-esteem and academic related stressor) with body weight status of adolescents in Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Methods: A total of 455 adolescents aged 13-16 years (50.3% male and 49.7% female) were recruited from five randomly selected schools through a multistage cluster sampling. Body weight and height were assessed and body mass index (BMI) was computed. Weight teasing by peers, self-esteem and academic related stressor were assessed using self-administered questionnaire of Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS), Rosenberg Self esteem Scale (RSE) and Secondary School Stressor (SSS) respectively. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 17.1% and 12.2%. Binary logistic regression revealed that adolescents who experienced weight teasing by their peers had 12 times higher odds to be overweight and obese. However, low self-esteem and high academic stressor were associated with a reduction in the likelihood of being overweight and obese. This rather contradictory results may be due to various factors that may affect the adolescents’ self-esteem and academic related stressor. Conclusion: Intervention programmes need to consider the peer environment of adolescents, increasing awareness on the effect of weight teasing by peers and further well designed study is crucial to stimulate the central understanding of psychosocial correlates to the adolescent obesity

Patients' satisfaction with the bulk trolley system in a government hospital in Malaysia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine patients' satisfaction with the bulk trolley food service system and the effect of the system on energy and protein intakes. Design/methodology/approach: An interview-based questionnaire was used to measure patients' satisfaction (n = 70) with the hospital food services. Dietary intake of hospital food was determined through one-day weighed food intake survey and a food record for non-hospital food. Findings: The majority of the patients (98.6 per cent) were satisfied and 1.4 per cent was very satisfied with the food service. Energy (kcal) and protein (g) intakes from hospital food were higher than that of outside food (p < 0.05). However, most patients did not obtain their full energy and protein requirements from the hospital food provided. Four food service dimensions were found to be significantly correlated with patients' overall satisfaction (p < 0.05). Research limitations/implications: The questionnaire was adapted from the study by Capra et al. and modified to suit the local food service system, thus the application may be context-specific. The instrument did not measure factors that influence hospital food consumption, nor did it differentiate between the acceptability of different kinds of food. Also a comparison of patients' acceptance between the plated and bulk trolley system was not conducted in this study. Practical implications: The results of the study can be used as a basis for decision making and for future planning of the food service system. The findings prompt analytical comparison, between the bulk trolley, and plated systems, in determining patients' preference, and to increase food intake. Originality/value: Patient satisfaction surveys are regularly conducted in the country but none had ever studied the effectiveness of the bulk trolley system in relation to patients' satisfaction. The findings are noteworthy and, compared with the past literature review, the difference in the way the system is carried out in the country may be the contributing factor regarding patients' satisfaction system

Effect of Probiotics Supplementation on Bone Mineral Content and Bone Mass Density

A few studies in animals and a study in humans showed a positive effect of probiotic on bone metabolism and bone mass density. Most of the investigated bacteria were Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium . The positive results of the probiotics were supported by the high content of dietary calcium and the high amounts of supplemented probiotics. Some of the principal mechanisms include (1) increasing mineral solubility due to production of short chain fatty acids; (2) producing phytase enzyme by bacteria to overcome the effect of mineral depressed by phytate; (3) reducing intestinal inflammation followed by increasing bone mass density; (4) hydrolysing glycoside bond food in the intestines by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. These mechanisms lead to increase bioavailability of the minerals. In conclusion, probiotics showed potential effects on bone metabolism through different mechanisms with outstanding results in the animal model. The results also showed that postmenopausal women who suffered from low bone mass density are potential targets to consume probiotics for increasing mineral bioavailability including calcium and consequently increasing bone mass density