Prevalence of obesity and screening for diabetes among secondary school students

Introduction There is an increasing trend of obesity in children and adolescent globally. The objectives of this study were to identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity among students from secondary schools and to determine the mean random blood sugar (RBS) for the overweight and obese students. Methods This was a cross sectional study. Two secondary schools that were scheduled for visit by the School Health Team, Taiping in July 2016 were included. A standardized data collection sheet was used to collect the data. Overweight and obesity were defined based on WHO 2007 reference for BMI-for-age criteria. Random blood glucose was checked for overweight and obese students. Results A total of 184 school students consented and participated. 128 (69.6%) were female and 90 (48.9%) were Malays. The mean weight and height were 56.21 kg and 1.61 m respectively with BMI of 21.49 kg/m2. Overall, the prevalence of obese and overweight were 12.5% and 10.9% respectively. Among the 4 BMI groups, there were no significant difference found in sex (p=0.849) and races (p=0.536). However, there was significant difference (p=0.042) in mean RBS for obese and overweight students between races. RBS readings among overweight and obese students were within normal range with mean of 5.95 (0.67) mmol/l (range between 4.60 – 7.70 mmol/l). Conclusions The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity were comparable with other studies done in Malaysia. Nevertheless, there was no prevalence of Type II diabetes mellitus among them

Effectiveness of combined Malaysia healthy plate method (half-half quarter) and physical activity intervention at workplace setting among healthcare workers

Introduction; Overweight and obesity are becoming a major health issue which contributes to the increase in morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the diet intervention and exercise for weight reduction among obese but healthy adults. Methods; This was a quasi-experimental study using designed Structured Diet with Program adapted from Malaysia Healthy Plate method (half-half quarter) with physical exercise for weight reduction. The anthropometry and biochemistry parameters were monitored and collected pre- and post-program. The body mass index (BMI) cut off points by World Health Organization (WHO) for Asian population was used to define obesity in this study. Results; 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) were recruited. However, only 27 HCWs completed the program. The pre- and post-program mean BMI was 32.90 kg/m2 and 31.39 kg/m2 and weight was 81.25 kg to 77.37 kg. The total cholesterol reduced significantly with mean 5.65 mmol/l to 5.34 mmol/l. Other blood parameters showed some reduction but not statically significant with mean Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS): 4.82mmol/l to 4.69mmol/l, mean High Density Lipoprotein (HDL): 1.43mmol/l to 1.32mmol/l mean Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL): 3.54mmol/l to 3.42mmol/l and mean TG 1.52mmol/l to 1.31mmol/l. Conclusions; Overall, the programme led to a considerable reduction in body weight, BMI, and total cholesterol. Even though other blood parameters did not show statistically significant reduction but they still showed some reduction in postprogramme. This method was recommended to be implemented among Malaysians for longer duration to achieve significant reduction in blood parameters. However, the commitment and motivation of the HCWs were highly needed to ensure the effectiveness and adherence to the diet method

Validation of the Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT) for the Early Diagnosis of Cognitive Impairment in Multilingual Population in Malaysia

As Malaysia undergoes a demographic transformation of population aging, the prevalence of dementia is expected to rise, posing a major public health threat issue. Early screening to detect cognitive impairment is important to implement appropriate clinical interventions. The Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT) is a language-neutral cognitive assessment screening tool suitable for multilingual populations. This study was aimed to validate the VCAT screening tool for the detection of cognitive impairment amongst the population of Malaysia. A total of 184 participants were recruited, comprising 79 cognitively healthy participants (CHP), 46 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 59 mild dementia (Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia) patients from five hospitals between May 2018 and December 2019 to determine the usefulness of VCAT. Diagnostic performance was assessed using area under the curve (AUC), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysies was performed to determine the recommended cutoff scores. ROC analyses for the VCAT was comparable with that of MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) in differentiating between CHP, MCI, and mild dementia (AD and VaD) participants. The findings of this study suggest the following optimal cutoff score for VCAT: Dementia 0–19, MCI 20–23, Normal 24–30. The mean ± SD time to complete the VCAT was 10.0 ± 2.75 min in the CHP group and 15.4 ± 4.52 min in the CI group. Results showed that 76.0% of subjects thought that the instructions in VCAT were similar or easier to understand compared with MoCA. This study showed that the VCAT is a valid and useful screening tool for patients with cognitive impairment in Malaysia and is feasible to be used in the clinical settings