Salt reduction policy for out of home sectors: a supplementary document for the salt reduction strategy to prevent and control non-communicable diseases (NCDS) in Malaysia 2021-2025.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major cause of death among Malaysians. Reduction of salt intake in populations is one of the most cost-effective strategies in the prevention of CVDs. It is very feasible as it requires low cost for implementation and yet could produce a positive impact on health. Thus, salt reduction initiatives have been initiated since 2010, and two series of strategies have been launched. However, there are issues on its delivery and outreach to the target audience. Further, strategies targeting out of home sectors are yet to be emphasized. Our recent findings on the perceptions, barriers and enablers towards salt reduction among various stakeholders including policy-makers, food industries, food operators, consumers and schools showed that eating outside of the home contributed to high salt intake. Foods sold outside the home generally contain a high amount of salt. Thus, this supplementary document is being proposed to strengthen the Salt Reduction Strategy to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) for Malaysia 2021-2025 by focussing on the strategy for the out-of-home sectors. In this supplementary document, the Monitoring, Awareness and Product (M-A-P) strategies being used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) are adopted with a defined outline of the plan of action and indicators to ensure that targets could be achieved. The strategies will involve inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approaches, including monitoring of salt intake and educating consumers, strengthening the current enforcement of legislation on salt/sodium labelling and promoting research on reformulation. Other strategies included in this supplementary document included reformulation through proposing maximum salt targets for 14 food categories. It is hoped that this supplementary document could strengthen the current the Salt Reduction Strategy to Prevent and Control NCDs for Malaysia 2021-2025 particularly, for the out-of-home sector, to achieve a reduction in mean salt intake of the population to 6.0 g per day by 2025.

Fatty Acid Composition of Selected Street Foods Commonly Available in Malaysia.

Despite growing evidence of increased saturated and trans fat contents in street foods, little is known about their fatty acid (FA) compositions. This study aimed to analyse the saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and trans fatty acids (TFAs) content of 70 selected and most commonly available street foods in Malaysia. The street foods were categorised into main meals, snacks, and desserts. TFAs were not detected in any of the street foods. Descriptively, all three categories mainly contained SFAs, followed by MUFAs, and PUFAs. However, the one-way ANOVA testing showed that the differences between each category were insignificant (p > 0.05), and each FA was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from one to another. Nearly half of the deep-fried street foods contained medium to high SFAs content (1.7 g/100 g-24.3 g/100 g), while the MUFAs were also high (32.0-44.4%). The Chi-square test of association showed that the type of preparation methods (low or high fat) used was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the number of SFAs. These findings provide valuable information about fat composition in local street foods for the Malaysian Food Composition Database and highlight the urgency to improve nutritional composition.

Street Food in Malaysia: What Are the Sodium Levels?

Street food is a major source of food in middle- and low-income countries as it is highly accessible and inexpensive. However, it is usually perceived as unhealthy due to the high levels of sodium, sugar, and fat content. However, there is little analytical data on the sodium levels in the street foods of Malaysia. This study started with a survey to determine the most frequently available street foods in every state in Malaysia, followed by food sampling and the analysis of sodium (reported mg/100 g sample). Street food in the snack category contained the highest amount of sodium (433 mg), followed by main meals (336.5 mg) and desserts (168 mg). Approximately 30% of the local street food in this study was deep-fried. Snacks from processed food (8%) contained high sodium content (500−815 mg). Fried noodles and noodle soup contained the highest amount of sodium (>2000 mg sodium) based on per serving. Most main dishes that use a variety of sauces contained high amounts of sodium. These findings were recorded in the Malaysian Food Composition Database. Moreover, this study could raise awareness and serve as baseline data for future interventions on the sodium content in the street foods of Malaysia.

Structural Characterization Analyses of Low Brass Filler Biomaterial for Hard Tissue Implanted Scaffold Applications.

A biomaterial was created for hard tissue implanted scaffolds as a translational therapeutic approach. The existing biomaterials containing titanium dioxide filler posed a risk of oxygen gas vacancy. This will block the canaliculars, leading to a limit on the nutrient fluid supply. To overcome this problem, low brass was used as an alternative filler to eliminate the gas vacancy. Low brass with composition percentages of 0%, 2%, 5%, 15%, and 30% was filled into the polyester urethane liquidusing the metallic filler polymer reinforced method. The structural characterizations of the low brass filler biomaterial were investigated by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. The results showed the surface membrane strength was higher than the side and cross-section. The composition shapes found were hexagon for polyester urethane and peanut for low brass. Low brass stabilised polyester urethane in biomaterials by the formation of two 5-ringed tetrahedral crystal structures. The average pore diameter was 308.9 nm, which is suitable for articular cartilage cells. The pore distribution was quite dispersed, and its curve had a linear relationship between area and diameter, suggestive of the sphere-shaped pores. The average porosities were different between using FESEM results of 6.04% and the calculated result of 3.28%. In conclusion, this biomaterial had a higher surface membrane strength and rather homogeneous dispersed pore structures.

Numerical Simulation Study on Relationship between the Fracture Mechanisms and Residual Membrane Stresses of Metallic Material.

The distribution and dissipation energies in fracture mechanisms were a critical challenge to derive, especially for this ultra-thin sample. The membrane failure, which is the end of the fracture mechanisms, is a result of the cone wave reflections from the backend membrane boundaries. These reflections delay the failure processes due to the shock impacts. To compare these results with the experimental work, a numerical simulation was conducted for these processes. The cylinder-shaped rigid projectile was impacted using a frictionless Lagrange solver. The target was a cartridge brass circle plate clamped at its perimeter, and its zone was refined to a ten-times higher meshing density for better analysis. The erosion and cut-off controls involved a zero-gap interaction condition and an instantaneous geometric erosion strain of 200%. Due to the maximum projectile velocity of 382 m/s having the slowest perforation, the target thickness was found to be 5.5 mm. The fracture mechanism phenomena, such as tensile, compressive, through-thickness, and growth in-plane delamination, propagating delamination, and local punch shear waves were observed. After deducting tensile and flexural strengths from the last experiment, a total residual membrane stress of 650 MPa was found. This result indicated a relationship between the fracture mechanisms and residual membrane stresses of metallic material.

The effect of dietary and exercise interventions on body weight in prostate cancer patients: a systematic review.

Prostate cancer prognosis may therefore be improved by maintaining healthy weight through diet and physical activity. This systematic review looked at the effect of diet and exercise interventions on body weight among men treated for prostate cancer. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from the earliest record to August 2013. Randomized controlled trials of diet and exercise interventions in prostate cancer patients that reported body weight or body composition changes were included. A total of 20 trials were included in the review. Because of the heterogeneity of intervention components, a narrative review was conducted. Interventions were categorized as diet (n = 6), exercise (n = 8), or a combination of both diet and exercise (n = 6). The sample size ranged from 8 to 155 and the duration from 3 wk to 4 yr. Four diet interventions and 1 combined diet and exercise intervention achieved significant weight loss with mean values ranging from 0.8 kg to 6.1 kg (median 4.5 kg). Exercise alone did not lead to weight loss, though most of these trials aimed to increase fitness and quality of life rather than decrease body weight. Diet intervention, alone or in combination with exercise, can lead to weight loss in men treated for prostate cancer.