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Aim: To investigate the association among genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors in obese and non-obese university students in Malaysia. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on students who were studying at universities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire, consisting of three major parts: demographics, factors influencing body weight and actions to alter or maintain the present body weight. Results: Most of the parents and siblings of young obese participants were also obese compared with non-obese participants (p < 0.001). Family and friends had an influence on the eating habits of both obese and non-obese participants. About 40% of obese participants had a smoking habit. Non-obese participants did not eat much differently, whilst obese participants increased their food intake when they had fewer sleeping hours (p = 0.002). Only 29% of obese participants preferred fruit or vegetables, while 71% preferred salty, baked, fatty and sugary food. More than 50% of non-obese participants always had breakfast. None of the obese participants exercised daily. Stress and poor time management were the major factors preventing obese participants from losing body weight, while encouragement from family members, peers and social influencers were the major motivators for non-obese participants to maintain their body weight. Conclusion: Genetics, family and friends, sleep, eating habits, smoking, physical activity and stress have influences on both obese and non-obese cohorts. Obese populations should adopt good discipline, have adequate sleep, observe a healthy diet and maintain an active lifestyle to reduce body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transboundary haze pollution caused by periodic forest fires has initiated a serious negative implication to the economy, tourism sectors and public health in Southeast Asia. Due to the raising concerns of health effects of haze towards the Malaysian population, the present study was conducted to investigate the degree of awareness towards haze and the number of safety measures adopted by the Malaysian population during the haze crisis based on demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from 4 to 29 January 2016 on 387 subjects in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results showed that more than 90% of the respondents were aware of the hazards of haze pollution. Respondents with higher education background with diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree possessed greater awareness on the hazards of haze (p < 0.001) and practiced safety measures (p = 0.025) compared with those with lower education background with no proper schooling, primary schooling and secondary schooling. Among the subjects with higher household income (>RM 10,000/month) had higher awareness level on haze (p < 0.05) and adopted more safety measures (p < 0.05) compared with respondents with lower household income (

Introduction: Entrapment of the neurovascular bundle in the neck may occur in scalene triangle and costoclavicular region; by abnormal muscular architecture. Case report: During routine dissection we found an anatomical variation of muscular boundaries of posterior triangle of the neck. The upper part of trapezius is broader and is attached to medial half of superior nuchal line and is mostly fibrous in origin. Upper part of sternocleidomastoid is also broader and is attached to the lateral half of superior nuchal line. As a result, both trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles are in contact forming a single muscle sheet in the upper half of the neck. At their junction the posterior external jugular vein was descending to enter the posterior triangle. The apex of the posterior triangle does not extend above the middle of the neck. Attachments of the two muscles to the clavicle is more extensive and results in the reduction of the size of the posterior triangle. Both the muscles had greater connective tissue components between the muscular fasiculi. Conclusion: The cleido-occipitalis part of the trapezius in our case was larger and it over laps the third part of subclavian artery and lower trunk of brachial plexus. This can entrap the lower trunk of brachial plexus leading to "thoracic outlet syndrome". The upper part of brachial plexus is overlapped by the upper expanded part of sternocleidomastoid, it can compress the plexus, leading to "cervical outlet syndrome". Chronic tension type headache usually arises from the trigger points in the upper half of the trapezius muscle, because of the fusion of trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles in their upper half. It may also arise from certain trigger points in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Such abnormal muscular variation may lead to torticollis of the neck and subluxation of the atlantooccipital joint on that side [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]