Associations of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Food Label on Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) Risk amongst University Students in Selangor, Malaysia.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) deaths were on the rise in developing countries. In Malaysia, the accelerating economic transition has been accompanied by high prevalence of CVD risk factors which accounts for 35% of total deaths in 2016. This increasing trend involving not only the elderly but also the young adults. Food label reading is reported to be the key to help individual adopt healthy food choice and dietary habits. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the associations of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of food label on CVD risk amongst university students. A cross sectional study was conducted on 389 university students aged 19 to 35 y old in Selangor. Information on socio-demographic profile, nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice of food label were collected using self-administrated questionnaires. Anthropometric data of participants were measured using standardize methodology and blood pressure was measured using Omron blood pressure monitor. The data were tested using Chi-Square test. Average age of the respondents were 23 y. Majority of the respondents had no CVD risk (41%) while (59%) had increased CVD risks. There was a significant association between CVD risk factors (BMI, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with knowledge and attitude of using food label (p<0.05). The practice of food label usage showed no significant association (p>0.05) with all CVD risk factors. Considering the importance of understanding and usage of food label in the management of chronic diseases, these findings provide useful information to incorporate nutrition education on food labelling in preventing CVD risks.

Higher Dietary Energy Density is Associated with Stunting but not Overweight and Obesity in a Sample of Urban Malaysian Children.

Although diets with high energy density are associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity, it is not known whether such diets are associated with undernutrition. This study assessed the relationship between dietary energy density (ED) and nutritional status of 745 urban 1- to 10-year-old children. Dietary intakes were obtained using food recall and record for two days. Dietary energy density was based on food and caloric beverages. Higher dietary ED was associated with lower intakes of carbohydrate, sugar, vitamins C and D, and calcium but higher fat, fiber, iron, and folate intakes. While intakes of fruits and milk/dairy products decreased, meat, fish, and legume intakes increased with higher dietary ED. Stunting, but not other growth problems, was associated with higher dietary ED. Future studies should confirm the cause-and-effect relationship between higher dietary ED and stunting.

The relationship between household income and dietary intakes of 1-10 year old urban Malaysian.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Diet plays an important role in growth and development of children. However, dietary intakes of children living in either rural or urban areas can be influenced by household income. This cross-sectional study examined energy, nutrient and food group intakes of 749 urban children (1-10 years old) by household income status. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Children's dietary intakes were obtained using food recall and record for two days. Diet adequacy was assessed based on recommended intakes of energy and nutrients and food group servings. RESULTS: For toddlers, all nutrients except dietary fiber (5.5 g) exceeded recommended intakes. Among older children (preschoolers and school children), calcium (548 mg, 435 mg) and dietary fiber (7.4 g, 9.4 g) did not meet recommendations while percentage of energy from total fat and saturated fats exceeded 30% and 10%, respectively. The mean sodium intakes of preschoolers (1,684 mg) and school children (2,000 mg) were relatively high. Toddlers in all income groups had similar energy and nutrient intakes and percentages meeting the recommended intakes. However, low income older children had lowest intakes of energy (P < 0.05) and most nutrients (P < 0.05) and highest proportions that did not meet recommended energy and nutrient intakes. For all food groups, except milk and dairy products, all age groups had mean intakes below the recommended servings. Compared to middle and high income groups, low income preschoolers had the lowest mean intake of fruits (0.07 serving), meat/poultry (0.78 serving) and milk/dairy products (1.14 serving) while low income toddlers and school children had the least mean intake of fruits (0.09 serving) and milk/dairy products (0.54 serving), respectively. CONCLUSION: Low socioeconomic status, as indicated by low household income, could limit access to adequate diets, particularly for older children. Parents and caregivers may need dietary guidance to ensure adequate quantity and quality of home food supply and foster healthy eating habits in children.

Diet and physical activity in relation to weight change among breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to provide an overview of lifestyle changes after breast cancer diagnosis and to examine the relationship between dietary and physical activity changes with weight changes in breast cancer patients. Women with breast carcinomas (n=368) were recruited from eight hospitals and four breast cancer support groups in peninsular Malaysia. Dietary and physical activity changes were measured from a year preceding breast cancer diagnosis to study entry. Mean duration since diagnosis was 4.86±3.46 years. Dietary changes showed that majority of the respondents had decreased their intake of high fat foods (18.8-65.5%), added fat foods (28.3-48.9%), low fat foods (46.8-80.7%), red meat (39.7%), pork and poultry (20.1-39.7%) and high sugar foods (42.1-60.9%) but increased their intake of fish (42.7%), fruits and vegetables (62.8%) and whole grains (28.5%). Intake of other food groups remained unchanged. Only a small percentage of the women (22.6%) had increased their physical activity since diagnosis where most of them (16.0%) had increased recreational activities. Age at diagnosis (ß= -0.20, p= 0.001), and change in whole grain (ß= -0.15, p= 0.003) and fish intakes (ß= 0.13, p= 0.013) were associated with weight changes after breast cancer diagnosis. In summary, the majority of the women with breast cancer had changed their diets to a healthier one. However, many did not increase their physical activity levels which could improve their health and lower risk of breast cancer recurrence.

The effect of high lactose-isomaltulose on cognitive performance of young children. A double blind cross-over design study.

Changes in blood glucose are hypothesized to influence cognitive performance and these changes can be affected by certain nutrients. This double-blind 4-period cross-over study evaluated the effects of a slow-release modified sucrose (isomaltulose) in combination with a high concentration of lactose on cognitive performance of 5-6 year old children. Thirty children received a standard growing upmilk (Std GUM), reformulated growing up milk (Reform GUM), standard growing up milk with lactose-isomaltulose (Iso GUM), and a standard glucose drink (Glucose). The CDR System, a computerised cognitive assessment system, was used to assess various measures of attention and memory of the children at baseline (T=0), 60 (T=1), 120 (T=2), and 180 (T=3) minutes following the intake of test products. Overall, there was a decline in performance over the morning on almost every cognitive task. Children showed better attention following consumption of Iso GUM compared to Std GUM but attention was not significantly different than Reform GUM and glucose. Also, Iso GUM conferred a beneficial effect over both Reform GUM and glucose on sensitivity index of numeric working memory with no difference observed between Iso GUM and Std GUM. Surprisingly, glucose group showed lowest decline in the sensitivity index of spatial working memory and highest speed in picture recognition, although the latter was significantly better than Reform GUM only. For speed of spatial working memory, Reform GUM had the lowest decline but was significantly different only with Std GUM. There was, however, no significant difference among conditions for continuity of attention, speed of numeric working memory and picture recognition sensitivity. Despite the small sample size, the findings are intriguing as carbohydrate composition seems to influence some aspects of cognitive performance such as attention and memory. However, further studies are needed to confirm these findings.