The association of the hydration status and parental knowledge on fluid consumption with children’s weight status in Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction: Hydration and obesity play an important role in body weight regulation.Objective: To determine the association of hydration status and parental knowledge on fluid intake with the children's weight status in Muar, Johor, Malaysia.Method: A total of 207 children, 7-13 years of age, and their parents participated in this crosssectional study. Parental fluid consumption knowledge questionnaire and beverage questionnaire were used to assess parent's knowledge on fluid consumption and children's fluid intake consumption, respectively. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated.Results: A total of 24.7% of the children were overweight. Majority (78.7%) of the children were insufficiently hydrated while 78.7% parents had poor fluid consumption knowledge. Parental fluid consumption knowledge was associated with children's hydration status (χ 2 =47.788; p<0.001) as significantly more parents had good knowledge on fluid consumption when children were sufficiently hydrated (59%) compared to insufficiently hydrated (11%). Similarly, hydration status was associated with children's BMI (χ 2 =9.065; p=0.011) where significantly more overweight children were insufficiently hydrated (88.5%) compared to sufficiently hydrated children. _______________________________________

Fluid intake, hydration status and its association with cognitive function among adolescents in Petaling Perdana, Selangor, Malaysia

“…The results show that less than one-third (29.6%) of the adolescents in this study meet the RNI of 2,000-2,200 mL of fluid daily [21], and that result is similar to those in previous studies [15]. The adolescents' mean total daily fluid intake in the current study was much lower than those in Indonesia [22] and Latin America [23] but higher than that in European adolescents [24] Those results were consistent with the hydration status results for the adolescents, which showed that more than half (67.0%) of the adolescents were inadequately hydrated which was similar to the results of a study in Egypt [25] and much higher than that reported in a study in the United States [4].…”

“…The pattern of beverage consumption observed in this study was similar to those in past studies in which plain water was the main source of fluid [15,26]. In this study, water intake was followed by that for malted drinks, a fluid source that is prevalent among Malaysian children [17].…”

“…Despite the importance of adequate hydration on health, there is a lack of published studies reporting the hydration status and fluid sources of adolescents in Malaysia [15], and there are no reports on the associations of hydration and fluid source with cognitive function. In addition, little has been reported on SSB consumption and cognitive function in adolescents.…”