Abstract
We investigated the association between dietary intake and metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents within a semi-rural Malaysian community. Using an interviewer-led questionnaire, we surveyed 623 participants aged 7-18 from the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO). Anthropometric and blood pressure data were collected from all participants, while a subset (n = 162) provided blood samples for biomarker analysis, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Metabolic syndrome was determined using the International Diabetes Federation's Definition of Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents. Most participants were Malay (66.8%), with a median household income of MYR1,500 and a balanced sex distribution. Cereals, processed foods, beverages, fruits, and vegetables were commonly consumed. Obesity and abdominal obesity were prevalent, affecting more than a third of participants. Adherence to dietary recommendations was generally poor (ranging from 19.9 to 58.1%) and varied across age, sex, and ethnicity. Notably, some food groups displayed unexpected associations with health markers; for instance, fruit consumption was linked to abdominal obesity in children (abdominal obesity vs. normal: 2.4 servings/day vs. 1.6 servings/day). These findings emphasise the necessity of longitudinal studies to explore the complex relationship between diet and long-term health outcomes, including cardiometabolic diseases, while acknowledging the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on data collection and analysis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 11265 |
| Pages (from-to) | 11265 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 17 May 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 May 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2024.
Data Availability Statement
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementaryinformation files]. Data are available from SEACO by completion of a data application form to: https://w ww.
monash. edu. my/ seaco/ resea rch- and- train ing/ how- to- colla borate- with- seaco. For the purpose of open access,
the author(s) has applied a Creative Commons
Acknowledgements
The Ministry of Higher Education/UK-MY Joint Partnership on Non-Communicable Diseases (2019/MR/T018984/) and the Medical Research Council (MR/T018984/1), both provided funding in support of this research. The SEACO health and demographic surveillance system is supported by Monash University. The study’s funders played no part in the study’s planning, gathering, analyzing, or interpreting data, or in the report’s preparation. The National Institute for Health and Care Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre also funds the study’s co-authors (MEGA). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The authors also would like to express their appreciation to the SEACO Field Teams and survey participants. The South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO,https:// www. monash. edu. my/ seaco) funded the research detailed in this paper. The authors’ opinions, however, are their own, and there is no real or implied sponsorship from SEACO.
Keywords
- Humans
- Child
- Male
- Female
- Adolescent
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology
- Diet/adverse effects
- Risk Factors
- Malaysia/epidemiology
- Obesity/epidemiology
- Pediatric Obesity/epidemiology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
