A prospective study on the relationship between frequency of food intake and the risk of obesity among patients visiting husm

Abstract

IntroductionThe hypothesis that obesity is linked with unhealthy dietary intake is real, a fact upheld by many studies because obesity lessens individual's functional competence and health-related quality of life (HRQL). MethodologyA prospective cross-sectional study carried out in Hospital USM, Malaysia via a self-administered frequency of food intake questionnaire FFQ consisting of 37 lists of food items to evaluate the relationship of food intake pattern with obesity risk among 86 patients aged 18 and <80 years, recruited via convenience sampling method. ResultsThe findings demonstrated that some food types such as rice, sugar, cordial drinks, evaporated milk, full cream milk, prawns, and anchovies are significantly associated with obesity risk: P-values are 0.001, 0.022, 0.027, 0.020, 0.049, 0.019, and 0.029 respectively whereas others such as cheese plays a part in obesity risk. The differences in frequency of intake also influenced obesity risk as, the majority reported Daily intake of rice and sugar whereas the minority reported once a month intake. The study revealed that 64.1% non-obese and 63.8% obese for rice and 48.7% non-obese and 31.9% obese for sugar reported daily intake as their choice on intake frequency while the minority report of once a month intake was (2.6% and 14.9%) and (5.1% and 27.7%) for rice and sugar respectfully. On rate of intake, fruits (92.4%), green leafy vegetable (91.0%), Rice (88.4%), fresh fish (85.8%), condiments/spices (83.5%), and poultry (81.4%) were the food items in the highly consumed food category. Sugar, eggs, palm oil, snacks, and noodles were moderately consumed while carbonated drinks, cheese, and yogurt were the least consumed. ConclusionThe study outcome was encouraging as it demonstrated an association between obesity risk and type of food intake. However, a more quantitative and qualitative approach is needed to further upheld this relationship.