Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
Research Centre of Excellence, Nutrition and Non-Communicable Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Nutrients. 2019 Jan 11;11(1):142. doi: 10.3390/nu11010142.
Considering the double burden of malnutrition in Malaysia, data on malnourished children living in welfare homes are limited. This study aimed to determine the body weight status of children living in welfare homes and its associated factors. A total of 307 children aged 7⁻17 years old living in 15 selected welfare homes completed a standardized questionnaire, and their body weight and height were measured by trained researchers. There were 54.4% orphans, 23.8% abandoned children, and 21.8% children from problematic families. There were 51.5% boys and 48.5% girls; 52.4% were Malays, followed by 31.3% Indians, 12.7% Chinese, and 3.6% from other ethnic groups. The prevalence of overweight and obesity (23.1%) was higher than the prevalence of thinness (8.5%). In bivariate analyses, socio-demographic factors of age ( = 0.003), sex ( = 0.0001), ethnicity ( = 0.001), and welfare home enrollment status ( = 0.003), and psychological factors of self-esteem ( = 0.003), body shape dissatisfaction ( = 0.0001), and underestimation of body weight status ( = 0.002), were significantly associated with body mass index (BMI)-for-age. In the multiple linear regression analysis, children who were either Malays (β = 0.492) or Chinese (β = 0.678), with a status of being abandoned (β = 0.409), with body shape dissatisfaction (β = 0.457), and underestimated body weight status (β = 0.628) significantly explained 39.7% of the variances in higher BMI-for-age (F = 39.550; < 0.05). Besides socio-demographic background, the current findings emphasized the importance of incorporating body image perception in an obesity prevention intervention program in welfare homes.
考虑到马来西亚营养不良的双重负担，关于福利机构中营养不良儿童的数据有限。本研究旨在确定福利机构中儿童的体重状况及其相关因素。共有 307 名年龄在 7-17 岁的儿童居住在 15 所选定的福利机构中，他们完成了一份标准化问卷，由经过培训的研究人员测量他们的体重和身高。其中，孤儿占 54.4%，被遗弃的儿童占 23.8%，来自问题家庭的儿童占 21.8%。男孩占 51.5%，女孩占 48.5%；52.4%是马来人，其次是 31.3%的印度人、12.7%的中国人和 3.6%的其他种族群体。超重和肥胖的患病率（23.1%）高于消瘦的患病率（8.5%）。在单变量分析中，社会人口统计学因素中的年龄（ = 0.003）、性别（ = 0.0001）、种族（ = 0.001）和福利机构入学状态（ = 0.003），以及心理因素中的自尊（ = 0.003）、体型不满（ = 0.0001）和体重状况低估（ = 0.002），与 BMI-年龄显著相关。在多元线性回归分析中，马来人（β = 0.492）或中国人（β = 0.678）、被遗弃（β = 0.409）、体型不满（β = 0.457）和体重状况低估（β = 0.628）的儿童，显著解释了较高 BMI-年龄的 39.7%的方差（F = 39.550； < 0.05）。除了社会人口统计学背景外，本研究结果强调了在福利机构的肥胖预防干预计划中纳入身体意象感知的重要性。
