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Abstract Background The growing obesity epidemic in Malaysia presents a public health challenge that requires innovative intervention strategies. In an effort to address this problem, an Interactive Malaysian Childhood Healthy Lifestyle (i-MaCHeL) programme, which is a web-based initiative designed for preschool child–parent dyads offers a novel approach. Nevertheless, the success of such a web-based intervention depends on several interrelated factors. This research aims to examine the feasibility of i-MaCHeL in the Malaysian context, its usability for preschool child–parent dyads, and the acceptability of the programme among these user groups. Methods This was a single-arm pilot study involving 46 child–parent dyads recruited from six government preschools in Terengganu, Malaysia. The preschools were selected using a cluster random sampling technique at the preschool level. The intervention feasibility was determined based on the retention rate of participants in the pilot study. The System Usability Scale (SUS) and intervention process evaluation were used to assess the usability and acceptability of the web-based i-MaCHeL programme. Results The retention data demonstrated that 42 out of 46 participants completed the 13-week intervention programme, which showed that the overall retention rate was 91.3%. A mean (SD) SUS score of 84.70 (13.82) was obtained from parents, indicating that the web-based i-MaCHeL had an acceptable usability level. The mean scores of the process evaluation items ranged from 4.52 (0.63) to 4.83 (0.38), demonstrating that the web-based i-MaCHeL was highly accepted by the parents. The acceptability data also indicated that at least 92.9% (39/42) of the parents agreed/strongly agreed that the web content, programme duration, intervention dose, WhatsApp group, and delivery mode were appropriate. Conclusions According to these findings, the i-MaCHeL intervention using a web-based approach was feasible, usable, and acceptable as part of a weight-related behaviour change intervention for preschool child–parent dyads. This pilot study demonstrated that the web-based i-MaCHeL was feasible and promising for delivering weight-related behavioural intervention to child–parent dyads. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04711525 . Registered on January 15, 2021.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused many fallouts in human daily activities including teaching, learning and examination activities. Students of the Science and Medicine Foundation programme, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia, were also affected by the situation where the usual face-to-face (F2F) learning sessions were turned into online sessions. This study aims to examine the impact of online learning on students' academic performance among UniSZA foundation students. It is a retrospective study that involved 251 students who completed the foundation studies between 2020 (intake year 2019/2020) and 2021 (intake year 2020/2021). The mid-semester one assessment grades of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Information Technology courses were used as the primary comparative factor in assessing performance differences between online and F2F learning. Continuous variables were compared with the independent t-test. A p-value obtained from SPSS that was less than 0.05 (p

Purpose: Malnutrition is a common problem among hospitalized patients, especially among traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. It is developed from hypermetabolism and the condition may worsen under the circumstance of underfeeding or incompatible dietary management. However, the data of nutrient intake especially calorie and protein among TBI patients were scarce. Hence, this study aimed to determine the calorie and protein intake among acute and sub-acute TBI patients receiving medical nutrition therapy in hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Terengganu. Methods: This observational study involved 50 patients recruited from the neurosurgical ward. Method of 24 h dietary recall was utilized and combined with self-administered food diaries for 2–8 days. Food consumptions including calorie intake and protein intake were analyzed using Nutritionist PRO™ (Woodinville, USA) and manual calculation based on the Malaysian food composition database (2015). Results: Patients consisted of 56% males and 44% females with the median age of 28.0 (IQR = 22.8-36.5) years, of which 92% were diagnosed as mild TBI and the remaining (8%) as moderate TBI. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was adopted to classify TBI severity with the score 13–15 being mild and 9–12 being moderate. The median length of hospital stay was 2 (IQR = 2.0–3.3) days. Calorie and protein intake improved significantly from day 1 to discharge day. However, the intake during discharge day was still considered as suboptimal, i.e. 75% of calorie requirement, whilst the median protein intake was only 61.3% relative to protein requirement. Moreover, the average percentages of calorie and protein intakes throughout hospitalization were remarkably lower, i.e. 52.2% and 41.0%, respectively. Conclusion: Although the calorie and protein intakes had increased from baseline, hospitalized TBI patients were still at a risk to develop malnutrition as the average intakes were considerably low as compared to their requirements. Optimum nutrient intakes especially calorie and protein are crucial to ensure optimum recovery process as well as to minimize risks of infection and complications.

Abstract Background Body weight is highly associated with overall health status. Being severely thin or obese may impose the risk of many health problems. Early detection of body mass index (BMI) status may help to reduce the associated comorbidities. Although many studies in the literature have investigated the BMI of school adolescents in Malaysia, the data on status of body weight among school adolescents in suburban states like Terengganu is limited. This study aimed to describe the body weight status of the whole population of school adolescents in all seven districts in Terengganu, Malaysia. Methods Using a cross-sectional study design, body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated and classified using WHO BMI-for-age Z-score. Data was obtained using the National Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessment, which was uploaded in a specific Health Monitoring System (HEMS). Results From a total of 62,567 school adolescents, 50.7% were boys and 49.3% were girls. Girls had significantly higher BMI than boys in age groups of 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 years old. Among boys and girls, there were significant differences in mean BMI of school adolescents between rural and urban school locations in all age groups (p

Introduction: Intervention approaches that integrate human coaching into technology are considered as a convenient, accessible and scalable method to reach a larger population at risk. The objective of this paper is to present the protocol for a randomised controlled trial that evaluates the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention programme via a mobile phone app (MyDiPP), which aims to prevent diabetes among adults at risk of developing diabetes. Methods: MyDiPP intervention is to be delivered for 12 months with multiple approaches (weight loss, dietary modification, physical activity, and quality of life). Eligible adults aged 18-65 years, overweight/obese (body mass index, BMI ≥ 23kg/m2), and at high risk of type 2 diabetes [American Diabetes Association (ADA) Diabetes Risk Score ≥5, or haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 5.6-6.2%], will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups (intervention or usual care control groups) in a 1:1 ratio using simple randomisation. Results: Changes in weight and HbA1c level (primary outcomes), and changes in physical activity level, dietary intake, and quality of life (secondary outcomes) will be assessed at 6 and 12 months. Conclusion: This study protocol describes the first digital therapy for diabetes prevention in Malaysia, which will determine whether the effect of this intervention is larger than the effect of usual care in reducing body weight and HbA1c level, and improving dietary intake, physical activity, and quality of life of high-risk individuals. Results from this trial may be useful for preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity has been alarming. One approach to address this issue is to implement health promotion programmes. Despite the many health promotion and health intervention programmes held, there is a lack of evidence showing the application of theories and models. This scoping review aimed to explore existing literature and synthesise findings based on models and theories used to support health promotion programmes for overweight and obese adults. Methods: This review was guided by the Arksey and O'Malley framework. Online databases, such as Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, were used to search for relevant articles using suitable keywords, from January 2015 until December 2021. Articles were written in English and Malay, and the study subjects were adults aged 18-59 years old. Two reviewers independently screened the articles, and the extracted information were tabulated after analysis. Results: A total of 13 different theories and models were found in the 27 articles selected. Many studies reported using the Transtheoretical Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health Belief Model in health promotion programmes for overweight and obese adults. Most constructs and components focused on changing health-related behaviours starting with the individual, such as self-efficacy and readiness to change. Majority of the articles showed an improvement in health-related behaviours and had great potential for future studies. Conclusion: When conducting health promotion programmes for overweight and obese adults, researchers should consider models and theories with constructs and components to ensure consistent improvement and potentially significant impacts on health-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Body weight is highly associated with overall health status. Being severely thin or obese may impose the risk of many health problems. Early detection of body mass index (BMI) status may help to reduce the associated comorbidities. Although many studies in the literature have investigated the BMI of school adolescents in Malaysia, the data on status of body weight among school adolescents in suburban states like Terengganu is limited. This study aimed to describe the body weight status of the whole population of school adolescents in all seven districts in Terengganu, Malaysia.Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated and classified using WHO BMI-for-age Z-score. Data was obtained using the National Fitness Standard (SEGAK) assessment, which was uploaded in a specific Health Monitoring System (HEMS).Results: From a total of 62,567 school adolescents, 50.7% were boys and 49.3% were girls. Girls had significantly higher BMI than boys in age groups of 13 to 15 and 16 to 17 years old. Among boys and girls, there were significant differences in mean BMI of school adolescents between rural and urban school locations in all age groups (p < 0.001). There were also significant differences in BMI between boys and girls in all districts in Terengganu, except Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu, for all age groups (p < 0.001). Overall, the prevalence of thinness, normal, overweight and obesity were 8.4, 64.6, 15.0 and 12.0%, respectively. There were significant differences between BMI categories and genders in total participants, and within rural and urban school locations (p < 0.05). In all districts except Marang and Dungun, significant difference was also found between BMI categories and genders.Conclusion: The prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity in Terengganu were substantial. In this study, BMI category was associated with gender, age, school location and district. However, the actual effects of these factors on the prevalence of thinness and obesity among this population demand further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]