Abstract
Optimal nutrition is essential for healthy growth during adolescence. This study aims to investigate the baseline nutritional intake of Malaysian adolescents by gender, body mass index, and places of residence, both urban and rural. A cohort study was conducted consisting of 794 adolescents (aged 13-years) attending 15 public secondary schools from the Central (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor) and Northern (Perak) Regions of Peninsular Malaysia. Qualified dietitians conducted a 7-day historical assessment of habitual food intakes. Facilitated by flipcharts and household measurement tools, detailed information on portion sizes and meal contents were recorded. Nutritionist Pro™ Diet Analysis software was also used to analyze the dietary records.The mean age of the adolescents was 12.86 ± 0.33 y; the mean energy intake was 1659.0 ± 329.6 kcal/d. Males had significantly (P < .001) higher energy intake than females (1774.0 ± 369.8 vs 1595.2 ± 320.6 kcal/d); adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and cholesterol (P < .001) compared to adolescents in urban schools (1706.1 ± 377.7 kcal/d and 244.1 ± 100.2 mg/d, respectively). Obese adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and sugar (1987.6 ± 374.0 kcal/d and 48.9 ± 23.0 g/d) (p-value <0.001).The dietary intake of normal weight versus obese adolescents differs by the location of their school. Thus, the implementation of a structured and tailored intervention is recommended to help minimize this nutritional inequality.
Highlights
Adolescence is defined as a period of human growth and development that occurs after childhood and before adulthood, between the ages of 10 and 19 [1]
Similar trends in total energy intake were found between boys and girls in other studies, such as the Young Hearts Project [25] and the Goteborg adolescent studies [26], yet the overall energy intake by the Malaysian adolescents participating in this study was lower than those two studies
Findings on energy intake from the current study are comparable with another adolescent study conducted in Malaysia; [27] the energy intake findings of the current study are comparable with this other study, it should be noted that we used different methods to investigate dietary intake—the Eating Behaviors Questionnaire and a three-day dietary record were used by the previous study
Summary
Adolescence is defined as a period of human growth and development that occurs after childhood and before adulthood, between the ages of 10 and 19 [1]. To meet the macro and micronutrient requirements of adolescence, optimal nutrition is critical. These requirements are different for males and females [2]. To curb the escalating problem of nutritional extremes in adolescent populations—consuming under and over what is necessary—the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommend a healthy diet [3] of adequate fruits and vegetables. These recommendations have been actively promoted to all age groups, to help minimize the risk of developing heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. The trend of decreased physical activity level, which is due to the rise of sedentary lifestyles [2], has worsened the obesity problem for adolescent persons
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