title: Accelerometer-determined physical activity level among government employees in Penang, Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate accelerometer-determined physical activity level of 233 Malay government employees (104 men, 129 women) working in the Federal Government Building Penang, Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Body weight, height, waist and hip circumference, body fat percentage and blood pressure were measured for each respondent. All the respondents were asked to wear an accelerometer for 3 days. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated using a standard formulas. Fasting blood sample was obtained to determine the lipid profile and glucose levels of the respondents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the accelerometer-determined physical activity level, almost 65% of the respondents were categorised as sedentary. Approximately 50.2% of the respondents were overweight or obese. There were negative but significant relationships between body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.353, p < 0.05), body fat percentage (r = -0.394, p < 0.05), waist circumference (WC) (r = -0.198, p < 0.05) and physical activity level. Sedentary individuals had a higher risk than moderate to active individuals of having a BMI more than or equal to 25 kg/m2 (OR = 2.80, 95% CI 1.55-5.05), an-risk classified WC (OR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.01-3.20), and a body fat percentage classified as unhealthy (OR = 3.01, 95% CI 1.41-6.44).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that accelerometer-determined physical activity level is a significant factor associated with obesity in this study. The high prevalence of physical inactivity and obesity found among respondents of this study indicate a need for implementing intervention programmes among this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia. hazizi@putra.upm.edu.my
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hazizi
authors.forename: Mardiah B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Aina
authors.forename: Nasir M T
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Mohd
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zaitun
authors.forename: Jan J M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tabata
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001823:Body Composition; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006076:Government; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008055:Lipids