Intuitive Eating Behavior and Obesity among Adolescents in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia has witnessed a sharp increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the past decade and named as the highest rate of overweight and obesity among all Southeast Asian countries by WHO in 2018. Despite the importance of the dietary knowledge intervention related to obesity and overweight, there is a lack of study on intuitive eating behaviour among Malaysian adolescents. Most of the existing overweight and obesity intervention was targeted to adolescents without considering the different psychological, cultures, religions, and ethnicities, making the current approaches less suitable for Malaysian adolescents. Therefore, it is important to understand how the Malaysian obese population benefits from the comprehensive, intuitive eating behaviour intervention. The improvement intervention based on intuitive eating behaviour that caters specifically towards Malaysian obese and overweight adolescents could contribute to develop effective healthcare intervention on obesity and overweight to ensure sustainable development of the community through prevention and control of non-communicable diseases enhancing population health safety through food consciousness.