Risk factors associated with abdominal obesity in suburban adolescents from a Malaysian district

INTRODUCTION@#We aimed to determine the risk factors associated with abdominal obesity (AO) in suburban adolescents.@*METHODS@#This cross-sectional study included adolescents aged 15-17 years from five randomly selected secondary schools in the Hulu Langat district of Selangor state, Malaysia. Waist circumference (WC) was measured at the midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest. Information on sociodemographic data, dietary habits, physical activity levels and duration of sleep was obtained via interviewer-administered questionnaires. Participants' habitual food intake was determined using a 73-item Food Frequency Questionnaire.@*RESULTS@#Among 832 participants, 56.0% were girls; 48.4% were Malay, 40.5% Chinese, 10.2% Indian and 0.8% of other ethnic groups. Median age and WC were 16 (interquartile range [IQR] 15-16) years and 67.9 (IQR 63.0-74.6) cm, respectively. Overall prevalence of AO (> 90th percentile on the WC chart) was 11.3%. A higher proportion (22.4%) of Indian adolescents were found to have AO compared with Malay and Chinese adolescents. Logistic regression analysis showed that female gender (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 7.064, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.087-23.913; p = 0.002), Indian ethnicity (adjusted OR 10.164, 95% CI 2.182-47.346; p = 0.003), irregular meals (adjusted OR 3.193, 95% CI 1.043-9.774; p = 0.042) and increasing body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR 2.867, 95% CI 2.216-3.710; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with AO.@*CONCLUSION@#AO was common among Malaysian adolescents. Female gender, Indian ethnicity, irregular meals and increasing BMI were significant risk factors.

Comparative assessment of students' performance and perceptions on objective structured practical models in undergraduate pathology teaching

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Assessment is an important factor that drives student learning, as students tend to mainly focus on the material to be assessed. The current practice in teaching pathology extensively applies objective-structured practical examination for the assessment of students. As students will have to deal with real patients during clinical years, it is preferred that students learn and practise via potted specimens and slides instead of picture plates. This study aimed to assess the preferred assesment method of pathology practical exercises.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This was a cross-sectional survey carried out in two consecutive batches of Phase 2 medical students. Student competency was assessed using both the traditional (TD) (i.e. use of potted specimens and slides) and picture plate (PP) methods. To compare the two assessment methods, we compared the mean scores obtained by the students and examined student perception of the two methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean scores obtained via the PP method were significantly higher than those obtained via the TD method for almost all the components tested.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We found that students performed significantly better (p < 0.05) when assessed using the PP method instead of the TD method. PP preparations might provide better visuals, thus aiding understanding, than the TD method. The findings of this study are valuable in identifying and improving our current teaching and assessment methods of medical students, in line with advancements in information technology.</p>