Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity in Malaysian Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The increased prevalence of unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles among Malaysian adolescents has become a public health concern. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize evidence from observational studies related to diet and physical activity (PA) among Malaysian adolescents (13–18 years) and to recognize the associations between determinants of diet and PA and diet and PA behaviours. A systematic search for observational studies published from August 1990 through August 2017 was conducted via PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane and Web of Science. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria; these were independently extracted by two reviewers. Gender and ethnicity were the most commonly studied correlates of diet and PA; males were more physically active and they tended to have poorer diet quality and higher energy and macronutrient intakes in comparison to females; Malay adolescents had a lower diet quality and Chinese adolescents spent less time in PA compared to other ethnicities. However, the significance of these associations was often small or inconsistent. This review highlights the lack of longitudinal observational studies but summarizes the best available evidence for policymakers and public health practitioners to improve the diet and the level of PA in Malaysian adolescents.

Correlates of sedentary behaviour in Asian adults: A systematic review

“…Additionally, we hand‐searched articles on the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network website (https://www.sedentarybehaviour.org/) and checked reference lists of relevant reviews . Furthermore, we requested for relevant studies on social media platforms; ResearchGate (social media network for scientists) and Twitter.…”

“…We performed searches in the following scientific databases: Medline org/) and checked reference lists of relevant reviews. 32,34,35,40,[46][47][48][49][50] Furthermore, we requested for relevant studies on social media platforms; ResearchGate (social media network for scientists) and Twitter. This allowed us to include studies until August 2019.…”

School-Based Intervention to Improve Healthy Eating Practices Among Malaysian Adolescents: A Feasibility Study Protocol

“…The intervention was developed based on data obtained from systematic reviews ( 21 , 49 ), reports of the MyHeARTs cohort study ( 48 ), and a related qualitative study ( 50 ). The findings suggested that a school canteen intervention had merit.…”

“…Adolescents' dietary behaviour is likely to be strongly influenced by environmental factors (20,21). The school food environment is often considered as a target for nutritional intervention as school children consumed ∼40% of their daily dietary intake at schools (22).…”

“…Addressing this gap is particularly important in Malaysia, where the school is an important provider of two main meals (breakfast and lunch) (37). In a recent systematic review about Malaysian adolescents' dietary intake, there was a small difference in dietary patterns according to ethnic diversity, which indicated that Malays had higher SSBs intake and lower diet quality than Chinese and Indian adolescents (21). Furthermore, Malay adolescents preferred Western-based and local-based dietary patterns while Chinese adolescents intended to follow a healthy-based food pattern, which may reflect the effect of socio-cultural diversity on food preferences (21).…”