Inadequate fruits and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lo, Yi Liang; Lee, Siew Siew; Cheng, Shi-Hui

doi:10.1177/02601060221099782

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Our finding showed a higher sugar consumption than a local study that showed mean sugar intake from SSB among public Malaysian university students was 30.90 g of sugar (6 teaspoons) of sugar per day (Hamirudin et al, 2018). This result is in line with other studies, which found that university students had poor dietary habits, including a low fruits and vegetables consumption and a higher consumption of SSB (Bawadi et al, 2019;Lo et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Increased Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among Malaysian University Students During the Covid-19

Cheng

Lau

2022

MJSSH

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Excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) increases calories intake, unhealthy weight gain and eventually contributes to obesity. This study aims to determine the SSB intake pattern and the level of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) associated with SSB intake among private university students during the Covid-19. A total of 100 university students were enrolled in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to determine the SSB intake pattern and KAP. Data were analysed by using SPSS. The most frequently consumed SSB were milk and tea or coffee whereas energy drink being the least consumed. The mean daily sugar intake from SSB among the students was 59.14 ± 51.28 g/day, which is equal to 12 teaspoons of sugar. Multiple linear regression presented that practice is the only factor that significantly associated with SSB intake (adjusted R2= 0.137, F= 3.614, p= 0.003) after adjusting all the variables. In conclusion, the sugar intake from SSB of students was higher than the recommendation level during the Covid-19. Students with good practice scores tends to consume a lower amount of SSB. Effective interventions should focus on reducing SSB intake and practicing a healthy dietary pattern during the Covid-19.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Increased Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among Malaysian University Students During the Covid-19

Cheng

Lau

2022

MJSSH

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“…It also indicated that fruits such as bananas, papaya, mango, orange, and pineapple and vegetables like beans, dhal, carrot, potato, leeks, pumpkin, Gotukola and Mukunuwenna were the most frequently consumed by the respondents. A survey conducted by Lo et al (2022) also proved the same thing, where the result is discouraging since the majority of the respondents have less knowledge about the consumption of vegetables and fruits per day as recommended by the WHO. This study found that the average amount of fruits and vegetables consumed daily by Malaysian adults in this study was less than one serving compared to the recommended intake of five servings.…”

Section: Past Studies Of Fruits and Vegetables Consumption Patternmentioning

confidence: 81%

A Study on The Fruits and Vegetables Consumption Patterns among Adults in Malaysia

Zin¹,

Rosnan²,

Shafee³

2022

IJARBSS

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Fruits and vegetables are important components of a healthy diet and human health. The presence of many vitamins and other substances in fruits and vegetables provides nutrients to the body. However, many people are not concerned about the importance of fruits and vegetables consumption in their daily lives. On that note, a study on the fruits and vegetables consumption among adults in Malaysia was conducted. This study can be very useful in providing more details about the consumption patterns of fruits and vegetables among respondents according to demographic characteristics and also in gaining new knowledge about the intake of fruits and vegetables in our lives. This survey is a cross-sectional study where data was collected through primary data by distributing the questionnaires using Google Form. A total of 291 adults participated in this study. The findings indicated that vegetables like garlic and onions are highly consumed daily. Meanwhile, fruit intakes such as oranges, watermelon, bananas and guava were highly consumed by most respondents. This study also identified that there is a significant association in the frequency of fruits consumption between race and age categories. On the other hand, there is a significant association between the frequency of vegetables consumption and gender. Malaysian adults consume a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, less than 50% of the respondents eat vegetables every day, and around 32% of them prefer to eat fruits 1 to 3 times per week. Many respondents did not know that fruits and vegetables contained lots of nutrients. Half of them did not know the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, there is a need to educate respondents about the nutrient content and the importance of increasing their consumption of fruits and vegetables and encourage Malaysians to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day in the context of a low-fat and high-fiber diet. It suggested that for future research, another study will be conducted to gain more information on attitudes and knowledge on fruits and vegetables consumption patterns among Malaysian adults as well as to improve what has been left in the current research.

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“…Besides, emotional eating associated with higher levels of stress and anxiety could lead to excessive intake of comfort food containing high amount of sugar and fat ( Husain and Ashkanani, 2020 ). Furthermore, Malaysian adults reported an increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages ( Cheng and Lau, 2022 ) and decreased intake of fruits and vegetables ( Lo et al, 2022 ) during COVID-19. These findings suggest that stress, depression, and anxiety can synergistically cause adverse effects on body weight during the pandemic due to poor dietary choices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weight gain, poor mental health and increased sedentary hours among Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cheng

2023

Nutr Health

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Background The Movement Control Orders (MCO) in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the lifestyle behaviours, weight changes, and mental health of the population. Aim To determine the changes in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, body weight status and mental health status among Malaysian adults before and during the pandemic. Methods A total of 338 Malaysian adults participated in this cross-sectional online study. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were self-reported. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were assessed using International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) while the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) were used to examine stress, depression and anxiety, respectively. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 28.0. Results The results showed an average weight gain of 0.6 kg among the participants with 45.5% of them experiencing weight gain. In addition, sedentary behaviour ( p < 0.001), PSS-10 score ( p < 0.001), PHQ-9 score ( p = 0.002) and GAD-7 score ( p = 0.001) were significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas the level of physical activity was significantly decreased ( p = 0.003) during the pandemic. Weight changes during the pandemic were found to be associated with age, sedentary hours, and PHQ-9 score. Through binary logistic regression, sedentary hours (AOR = 1.068, 95% CI = 1.002–1.139, p = 0.043) were identified to be a risk factor for weight gain during the pandemic. Conclusion The findings suggested that public health interventions to prevent weight gain should focus on strategies to increase physical activity for sedentary lifestyles.

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Inadequate fruits and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 10 publications

References 21 publications

Increased Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among Malaysian University Students During the Covid-19

Increased Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among Malaysian University Students During the Covid-19

A Study on The Fruits and Vegetables Consumption Patterns among Adults in Malaysia

Weight gain, poor mental health and increased sedentary hours among Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

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