Background/ObjectiveOur study aimed to assess the effects of physical activity interventions via standing banners (point-of-decision prompt) and aerobics classes to promote physical activity among individuals with metabolic syndrome.MethodsWe conducted a cluster randomized controlled intervention trial (16-week intervention and 8-week follow-up). Malaysian government employees in Putrajaya, Malaysia, with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned by cluster to a point-of-decision prompt group (n = 44), an aerobics group (n = 42) or a control group (n = 103) based on sample size calculation formula. Step counts were evaluated by Lifecorder e-STEP accelerometers for all participants. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the ‘harmonizing’ definition, in which individuals who have at least three of the five metabolic risk factors (waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) will be classified as having metabolic syndrome. A total of 80% of the enrolled government employees with metabolic syndrome completed the programme. Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows (version 20, SPSS, Chicago, IL).ResultsThere were significantly higher step counts on average in the aerobics group compared to the control group over assessments. Assessments at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up showed a significant difference in step counts between the intervention and control groups. The greatest reductions in the proportions of individuals with metabolic syndrome were observed in the aerobics group with a reduction of 79.4% in the post-intervention assessment compared to the assessment at baseline.ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that physical activity intervention via aerobics classes is an effective strategy for improving step counts and reducing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of a physical activity intervention using a combination of Facebook and standing banners on improvements in metabolic syndrome. Design/methodology/approach – In all, 120 (82.8 per cent) government employees with metabolic syndrome completed the programme. A Lifecorder e-STEP accelerometer (Suzuken Company Limited, Nagoya, Japan) was utilized to quantify physical activity. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to “Harmonized” definition at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up. Findings – There were significantly higher step counts in the intervention group as compared to the control group over time. There were significant within-group differences in the step count at the baseline, post-intervention and follow-up assessments (p < 0.001) in both the intervention and control groups. The step count of the intervention group increased by 4,522 steps in the post-intervention assessment compared to the assessment at baseline. The step count of the intervention group in the follow-up assessment was lower than in the post-intervention assessment, but it was still 2,126 steps higher than at baseline. For control group, the difference between the post-intervention assessment and the assessment at baseline was 520 steps per day, while the difference between the follow-up assessment and assessment at baseline was 379 steps per day. The greatest decrease in the percentage of metabolic syndrome was observed in the intervention group, with a reduction of 88.6 per cent in the post-intervention assessment as compared to that at baseline. Research limitations/implications – Future studies should incorporate measures which will be of interest to employers. Greater understanding and assessment of desirable employer-related outcomes are warranted, such as decreased job stress, turnover, absenteeism and improved job satisfaction, productivity and exploration of how these associated with physical activity. Practical implications – The findings show that delivering information on physical activity through an easily implemented and low-cost physical activity intervention via a combination of Facebook and standing banners was successful in improving step counts and metabolic parameters among individuals with metabolic syndrome. Social implications – The findings draw on supporting evidence for advocacy, which is about influencing the larger environment of public policy, and raising awareness of a single programme is insufficient to create lasting social change. Public policy must be shaped in a way that will sustain change across institutions. Originality/value – Despite the well-documented health benefits of physical activity, a growing number of people not achieving the recommended levels of physical activity necessary for good health. Importantly, the study provides a new insight on lifestyle-based physical activity interventions capable of improving step counts and metabolic parameters.

Introduction: Overweight and obesity has been emerging as one of the most common and preventable nutritional problems worldwide. In 2016, 39% and 13% of the adult population worldwide was classified as overweight and obese, respectively. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at 12 selected health clinics in Perak, Malaysia, and we used multi-stage cluster random sampling to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the primary healthcare workers and the associate factors of obesity indices. Each respondent was required to complete a self-administered questionnaire on their socio-demographic characteristics. In addition, we took anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentage, of the participants. Results: We recruited 261 primary healthcare workers. Overall, 49.9% of the healthcare workers were overweight or obese, 51.0% were at risk of having abdominal obesity, and 79.6% had a high body fat percentages. Age and self-reported health status were significantly associated with all the obesity indices. Educational level showed significant association with BMI and waist circumference, while occupational status showed an association only with BMI. Older age and professionals were predictors for high obesity indices. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity among the primary healthcare workers was higher than among the general population. An immediate intervention programme is needed to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among primary healthcare workers.

Introduction: The metabolic syndrome comprises a collection of cardiovascular disease risks, which has been demonstrated to predict type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome is a crucial health concern in Malaysia, with a prevalence of about 42.5% in the general population based on the ‘Harmonized’ definition. The aim of this study was to ascertain the association between socioeconomic status among Malaysian government employees with metabolic syndrome, compared with those without metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, this study also aimed to ascertain the associated obesity indicators for metabolic syndrome among employees—explicitly body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, fat mass index, and waist-to-height ratio. Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken at government agencies in Putrajaya, Malaysia, via multi-stage random sampling. A total of 675 government employees were randomly sampled from a list of 3,173 government employees working in five government agencies under five geographical areas. Data on socioeconomic status, anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical assessments were collected. Results: Employees who were males had higher metabolic syndrome prevalence compared to their counterparts (p=0.019). In addition, employees aged between 20 to younger than 30 years had lowest metabolic syndrome prevalence (p=0.002). The risk of having metabolic syndrome was almost 10 times more likely in men with a waist-to-hip ratio of ≥0.90 compared to men with a waist-to-hip ratio of <0.90 (p<0.001). Women with a waist-to-hip ratio of ≥0.85 were approximately 33 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome as compared to women with waist-tohip ratios of <0.85 (p<0.001). Men with a waist circumference of ≥90 cm were approximately twice as likely to have metabolic syndrome, compared to men with waist circumferences of <90 cm (p=0.030). The risk of having metabolic syndrome was almost three times more likely in women with a waist circumference of ≥80 cm compared to women with waist circumferences of <80 cm (p<0.001). Furthermore, the risk of having metabolic syndrome was almost five times more likely in women with fat mass indexes in Quartile 4 (≥7.93), compared to women with fat mass indexes in Quartile 1 (<5.25) [p<0.001]. On the other hand, men with waist-to-height ratios of <0.445 were 75% less likely to have metabolic syndrome as compared to men with waist-to-height ratios of ≥0.625 (p=0.020). Women with waist-to-height ratios of 0.445 to <0.525 were 95% less likely to have metabolic syndrome as compared to women with waist-to-height ratios of ≥0.625 (p<0.001). In addition, women with waist-to-height ratios of 0.525 to <0.625 were 77% less likely to have metabolic syndrome as compared to women with waist-to-height ratios of ≥0.625 (p<0.001). Conclusion: Gender and age were associated with metabolic syndrome prevalence. Waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio seems to be the better obesity indicators to predict the presence of metabolic syndrome than body mass index and body fat percentage in both men and women.

Background and aims: