ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Picky eating is defined by the reluctance of consuming familiar foods, trying new food and having strong food preferences. It is common among children; however limited and inconsistent studies have being done to investigate the incidence and its relationship among pre-schoolers in Malaysia. Aims: To investigate the prevalence of picky eaters among pre-schoolers and its association with nutritional status. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 192 preschool children in Kuala Selangor district, Malaysia. A set of online questionnaires consisted of Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) was administered online. Self-reported weight and height were also collected. Results: 31.8% of the children were identified as picky eaters. Their weight, weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), height, height-for-age z-score (HAZ), Body Mass Index (BMI) and BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) were significantly lower than non-picky eaters (p<0.05). A lower degree of food responsiveness, enjoyment of food and emotional overeating combined with higher degree of food fussiness and slowness in eating were prevalent among picky eaters (p<0.05). Picky eating behaviour was significantly associated with WAZ, HAZ, and BAZ (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed that 1 in 3 children is a picky eater and they are more likely to be underweight. This highlights more comprehensive studies in the future to investigate the long-term effect of such behaviour.
ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Proper nutrition for premature babies is vital for optimal growth. However, a lack of confidence and knowledge among parents causes them to search for online information which may sometimes be misleading or unreliable. The primary objective of this study is to develop a validated website as an educational tool for parents about nutrition for premature babies. Methods: This study was conducted by referring to the Waterfall Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model, which consists of five main stages. Stages one to three are related to the development of the website, namely, the requirements stage, design stage and implementation stage. This is then followed by a testing stage where 11 expert panels evaluated the content and face validity of the website. The final stage is the maintenance stage. Results: The website was developed with nine topics. The value of Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) for every item exceeded the minimum value of I-CVI (0.78), the value of the content validity index by scale, average (S-CVI/Ave) is 0.98, and the content validity index by scale, universal agreement (S-CVI/UA) is 0.83. Both S-CVIs have exceeded the minimum value, which is 0.90 and 0.80 respectively. The value of Krippendorff's Alpha (Kalpha) for the overall section of face validity is 0.53, which does not achieve the minimum acceptable value of Kalpha (0.67). Conclusion: The content validation has high agreement among the expert panels. However, the interphase, layout, and design of the website need to be improvised.
ABSTRACT
@# Introduction: Data on water and sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) intake among young adults in Malaysia is sparse. This study aimed at measuring the intake of plain water and SSB among undergraduate students in a Malaysian university and examine its association with body mass index (BMI). Methods: A total of 376 undergraduate students aged 18-30 years were recruited. A selfadministered questionnaire was used to determine the SSB consumption pattern. The questionnaire consisted of five sections that included the background of the participants, knowledge about SSB, SSB preferences, frequency and portion size. Results: 23.9% of subjects in this study were overweight. Almost all of the subjects took outside food (93.1%) and drink (74.2%). The highest daily consumption was plain water (92.3%), with a majority drinking more than two cups at each intake. Caffeinated drinks (coffee or tea) were the most popular SSB among the students (18.4%). Most students (79.7%) did not consume SSB on a daily basis. A significant association was found between the proportion of plain water consumption and BMI (p<0.05). Those who were overweight consumed a greater amount of plain water as compared to those underweight. Conclusion: Our findings of low plain water intake among the underweight may be used to tailor intervention efforts to increase its intake and reduce that of SSB, especially among underweight young adults.