title: Anthropometric indices and life style practices of the indigenous Orang Asli adults in Lembah Belum, Grik of Peninsular Malaysia.
abstract: A nutritional status survey of Orang Asli (Aboriginal) adults in Lembah Belum, Grik, has been conducted involving a total of 138 subjects. Jahai (58.7%) was the main ethnic group as compared to that of Temiar (41.3%). Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) characteristics, the majority (63.2%) of the respondents were normal, 26.7% underweight and 10.1% were either overweight or obese. However, by using two different indices of waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, 1.6% and 10.8% of the total respondents revealed abdominal obesity, respectively. Measurement of mid upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC) indicated that about 40% showed nutritional insufficiency whereas 0.8% showed over-nutrition. Body fat classification revealed that 53.4% of the respondents were thin, 45.8% at normal level and only 0.8% were obese. Student's t-test revealed a significant difference in anthropometric indices of body weight, height, MUAMC, triceps, sub-scapular, supra-iliac and body fat according to gender. Meanwhile, analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences in body weight, waist circumference, WHR and body fat according to different age categories. It was also found that those who smoked had lower BMI compared with non-smokers. Alcohol consumption was associated with higher BMI and WHR among the respondents. Pearson's correlation test between anthropometric measurements and socio-economic and demographic factors showed that ethnic group was the strongest variable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agrotechnology and Food Science, Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia, 21030 Mengabang Telipot, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. hayatimy@kustem.edu.my
authors.forename: Hayati Mohd
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Yusof
authors.forename: Ting Siew
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Ching
authors.forename: Roshita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Safiih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lola
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio