BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESThe purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between household food insecurity and nutritional status of children in low-income households. A cross sectional study involved a survey of households (n = 223) receiving the financial assistance.SUBJECTS/METHODSEligible mothers that fulfilled the inclusion criteria such as non-pregnant, non-lactating mothers, aged 18 to 55 years with their youngest children aged 2 to 12 years, were purposively selected. The Radimer/Cornell hunger and food-insecurity instrument was administered and children's height and weight were measured.RESULTSAbout 16.1% of the households were food secure, while 83.9% experienced some kind of food insecurity. Out of food insecure category, 29.6% households were food insecure, 19.3% women were individual food insecure and 35.0% fell into the child hunger category. Education of the mother (P = 0.047), household size (P = 0.024), number of children (P = 0.024), number of children going to school (P = 0.048), total monthly income (P < 0.001), income per capital (P < 0.001), number of household members contributing to the income (P = 0.018) and food expenditure (P = 0.006) were significant risk factors for household food insecurity. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting in children were 61.0%, 61.4% and 30.6% respectively. Based on multinomial logistic regression, children in food-insecure households were 2.15 times more likely to be underweight and three times to be stunted than children in the food-secure households.CONCLUSIONSThe findings suggest that household food insecurity is associated with the nutritional status of the children in the rural area of Northeastern Peninsular Malaysia.

Background Low birth weight prevalence in Malaysia remains high. Socioeconomic background may lead to differences in physical activity and maternal nutritional status, which may play an important role in birth outcomes. Methods This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to identify rural-urban differences in risk factors for low birth weight among women in Malaysia. Pregnant women at ≥20 weeks of gestation in urban and rural Malaysia ( n = 437) completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity. Weight and middle-upper arm circumference were measured. Infant birth outcomes were extracted from medical records. Results The overall prevalence of low birth weight infants was 6.38%. Rural women had more low birth weight infants than urban women (9.8% vs 2.0%, p = 0.03). Findings showed rural women were less sedentary ( p = 0.003) and participated in more household/caregiving activities ( p = 0.036), sports activities ( p = 0.01) and less occupational activity ( p < 0.001) than urban women. Logistic regression revealed that older age (OR = 1.395, 95% Cl = 1.053 to 1.846), low parity (OR = 0.256, 95% Cl = 0.088–0.747) and low middle-upper arm circumference (OR = 0.738, 95% Cl = 0.552 to 0.987) increased the risk of low birth weight infants in rural, but not in urban women. Conclusions We observed differences in risk factors for low birth weight between urban and rural pregnant women. Age, malnutrition and low parity were risk factors for low birth weight among rural pregnant women. Our findings suggest that rural pregnant women with low nutritional status should be encouraged to monitor their middle-upper arm circumference consistently throughout pregnancy. Improving nutritional status in rural pregnant women may reduce the risk of low birth weight infants in this population.

BackgroundA qualitative study providing an in-depth exploration of people's view and the increasing burden of overweight and obesity is required. This study aimed to explore the understanding of dieting and previous experiences on weight loss attempts among overweight and obese government employees in Kelantan, Malaysia, prior to recruitment into the intervention program.MethodsThirteen focus group discussions involving 129 participants from a weight-loss intervention program were conducted within the first 1 month of recruitment. These discussions were moderated by two trained researchers in the Malay language and assisted by an interview guide. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was performed, and codes and themes from each discussion were constructed.ResultsThe participants understood dieting with various meanings, including skipping meals and removing rice from daily diets. They applied numerous methods to lose weight and achieved various outcomes. Health and appearance, social support, and compliance with current trends were the factors motivating these participants to lose weight. Their determination to lose weight was limited by lack of self-control and motivation, experiences of unpleasant effects, influence on weight, and environmental and health factors.ConclusionReal-life weight loss experiences and perceptions provided relevant insights into current weight loss management strategies. Some of these issues and misunderstandings should be emphasized in weight loss strategies during health promotion.

IntroductionObesity, in the past was perceived to be the problem of the rich, but recent studies have reported that the problem of obesity is a worldwide problem and rural population is no less affected. Self-perceived health and weight appropriateness is an important component of weight-loss and eating behaviors and may be mediated by local, social and cultural patterning. In addition to the quality of life assessment, it should therefore be an important focal point for the design and implementation of clinical and public health policies.MethodsThe present study was carried out to assess the self-perception of weight appropriateness as well as the quality of life of overweight and obese individual among the rural population particularly among housewives. A total of 421 respondents participated in the study which consisted of 36.6% in the overweight and 63.4% in the obese categories.Resultsthe analysis of the survey revealed that self-perception regarding obesity among respondents show common similarities, particularly in self reporting on health, dietary habit and also the concept of beauty and a beautiful body. Character and behavior are highly regarded in evaluating a person’s self-worth in society. The results on the quality of life using the ORWELL 97 instrument show that the quality of life of respondents was moderate. Most of the respondents were aware of their body weight and indicated an intention to lose weight but also reported themselves as healthy or very healthy.ConclusionThe results of the survey indicated that perception on obesity did not differed very much between respondents, in fact there existed a lot of similarities in their perception about health, quality of life, personal health and self-satisfaction with own body. However, their quality of life was within the normal or moderate level based on the ORWELL 97 assessment. Even though most of the respondents were aware of their body weight and indicated an intention to lose weight they also reported themselves as healthy or very healthy, suggesting that public health messages intended for rural housewives need to be more tailored to health-related consequences of fatness.

BackgroundMany women are unable to practice exclusive breastfeeding because they are separated from their infants while working. Expressing their breast milk helps them to continue breastfeeding. This study explores the perception and experiences related to the feasibility, acceptability and safety of breast milk expression among formally employed women in Kelantan, Malaysia.MethodsA qualitative method using in-depth interviews was conducted from December 2008 to December 2009 among Malay women from urban and rural areas. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit the informants, and the interviews, which were facilitated by an interview guide, were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted, with construction of codes and themes from each interview.ResultsAnalysis of the interviews with 20 informants identified three themes related to breast milk expression. The themes were as follows: (i) lack of feasibility of expressing breast milk, (ii) negative feelings about expressing breast milk, and (iii) doubts about the safety and hygiene of expressed breast milk. The informants who did not practice exclusive breastfeeding believed that expressing their breast milk was not feasible, commonly because they felt there were not enough facilities for them. They also had negative feelings such as embarrassment. The safety and hygiene of the expressed breast milk was also their main concern.ConclusionMore practical and focused education, as well as provision of facilities, is needed for women to effectively and safely express and store their breast milk. The issue of inadequate milk production should be emphasized, especially by encouraging them to express their breast milk as a way to improve milk production.